The Savior of World
by shadowninja124
Summary: On his way training from his home, Naruto is suddenly brought to another world and he tries to figure out what has happened. No reason why is he here? This new world filled with demonic beasts, monsters and witches.
1. Chapter 1

"Where the hell...AM I!?" Naruto shouted loudly in the street, stuck in the middle of the street with crowds. Not only did he just see the humans, but there were half-human and beast races. There were people that were riding on the looking-ostrich.

Naruto remembered he was walking in the forest to train himself, but when he blinked his eyes once, he suddenly appeared here like magic. Like a poof magic effect. He already confirmed this isn't Genjutsu as he slapped himself on both cheeks. This new world he was in, it was some kind of fantasy world.

Come to think of the creatures, he realized he had them inside him.

"Kurama! Everyone! Are you all here!?" Naruto asked in the mindscape, hoping they're here with him.

**"Yes, we hear you... And stop yelling! We know that!" Kurama yelled at him for being a loud person. He and the 8 Bijuus are here with him.**

_"What the hell is going on? How did I get here?"_

**"We don't know, but I'm afraid nobody knows about your disappearance. Sasuke will find you with his Rinnegan ability while he's on his journey."**

Naruto nodded and agreed with him. Yes, his friend Sasuke can find him here by using the dimension jutsu with Rinnegan. Though... this is serious... Why is he here? He remembered he found someone dies in front of him-

_"What is this feeling? Since when did I have them?"_ He thought, getting to remember the part of memories he never had. But it was too blurry for him to see. Maybe, someone summoned him here to protect someone from evil.

**"Just relax and look around the city or capital." Son said.**

Naruto nodded as he began to explore the capital he's in. He turned right where no one was so he could keep it quiet and think about the new world. He sat on the stairs and wondered why he's here. Pretty sure that his theory was correct. First, he needs to find someone who summoned him here.

"Hey buddy! If you don't want to get, cough up whatever you've got."

Naruto heard a threatening voice as he looked it up and found three guys. One muscle guy and two short guys. "What if I say no?" He declined as he stood up and cracked his fists.

Before the fight began, they heard the footsteps and drew their attention to the source of the sound. It was a young girl who had a small bust which was covered by a black cloth. She wore black pants with the knee area and down on her left leg. She had short blonde hair.

"Move it! You guys in my way!" The runner girl yelled as she ran past them and jumped from building to building.

After she left them, the tree thugs turned around and refocused on Naruto. But, he suddenly appeared in mid-air, throwing a kick to the shorty guy in his face. The shinobi grabbed the muscle guy's fist who was going to punch him. He attacked him by punching in the guy's face, and now the two thugs are down.

The last thug is the person with two daggers. He charged at Naruto, but he instantly dodged his swinging. He grabbed his right arm and twisted it over a bit, forcing him to drop his dagger down. Naruto tossed him to the stairs, watching his face slammed on the hard stone. He kicked him right in his face to knock him out.

**"What a strange world." Chomei said.**

"Yeah, it is a strange world." Naruto replied before he heard a girl's voice, sounding like she called him as he turned and found a beautiful silver-haired girl.

She had long silver hair and purple-blue eyes. She wore a white and purple outfit along with a white flower pin in her hair.

His eyes were tightened to look at her for a good minute... This girl looked so familiar... If his theory was correct, maybe she's the one who summoned him.

"You there!" The silver-haired girl yelled, pointing her finger at the blond man, who pointed his finger to himself in confusion.

"Me?" He asked as the girl approached him so quickly. Looking at her face, she's not too friendly when she sees him. "Wh-What do I do?"

"Don't play a game with me. I know what you stole from me, you thief!" She yelled at him angrily.

"Are you sure? This is a male. Not female." A cute cat said as he flew up over the girl's shoulder. His fur is mostly grey with silver in certain spots. His eyebrows are pretty small and rhombus-shaped. He also has a gold earring on his left ear. "I don't sense any malice from him, but I had to admit you're pretty strong for taking those three guys."

_"What a minute. Where did he come from?"_ Naruto thought in surprise, looking at the kitty.

"You be quiet, Puck." The silver-haired girl called the cat's name, still glaring at Naruto who looked so innocent. "You know who stole my insignia from, don't you?"

Naruto got confused as hell while blinking his eyes at her for seconds. Then, he realized it was that little girl who ran past him. "Wait, wait! You picked the wrong person! If you're looking for a thief, she ran here and left before you!" He said, waving his hands to prove her he's innocent.

"You saw a thief? What does she look like?" She asked.

"She has short blond hair and wearing a cloth to cover her face." He answered.

"That's her! That's the thief who stole something from me! Hold on, it can't be!" She realized she came here too late to catch the thief. She turned away from Naruto before she showed her frustration. "Did I really just come around the long?!"

Naruto just stood there, watching her get frustrated who came too late before the thief ran away from here. "Hey, I could help you to find her. You can count on me." He said with a smile.

The silver-haired girl looked at him as her eyes rolled up to him. This person didn't seem to be special with no ability by looking at his appearance, but she noticed he took down the three thugs. "I appreciate your offer, but I can do this on my own-" She gasped as her body was scooped up in the arms by this blond man.

"That means yes!" He smirked as he started to jump from the building to building and went after the thief who stole something from this pretty girl. He heard her screaming when he jumped so he guessed that she has never experienced this before.

Man, he didn't know that could scare her because nobody ever gets scared of his speed.

Finding her is so easy, he could sense her aura and track her down whatever she ran to. She shouldn't be too far away from here so Naruto needed to go speed up, so he could catch. He did it with pure speed even faster than his normal speed.

"Not so fast!" The silver-haired girl screamed as her fists tightened his jacket.

Shit...

Maybe, Naruto should slow down his speed for her since she couldn't handle his speed, so he did what she didn't want. Though, she was cute when she got scared. "Sorry about that. I didn't mean to scare you like that." He said as he slowed down his speed and he's in run mode.

A kitty named Puck, flew up and landed on Naruto's shoulder. "You're one interesting human who can run like the others. May I ask your name?" He asked.

"Naruto Uzumaki! Nice to meet you two!" Naruto introduced. He knew the cat's name when the silver-haired girl said his name, but he didn't catch her name yet. "What's your name?"

"Satella." She responded with a guilty face.

Naruto looked at her and found a negative emotion from her. She lied to him, but he understood why she did that. "So, Satella... Why did she steal your insignia?" He asked.

"I don't know why, but I need to get it back as soon as possible." Satella said as she looked at the capital on her right. She admitted it was a beautiful view of the sun.

"I see. I'm guessing insignia was meant to be like the guild, am I correct?" He asked

"Yes, it was something like that. If I don't get it back, I'll be in trouble for losing my insignia." She said, noticing this human can jump and run faster like that.

This person, Naruto, wasn't like the knights or the others. He may have looked human with black and orange clothes, but somehow he wasn't just a normal human.

"Hang on, Satella! We're going to jump!"

"What?! Wait a minu-NARUTO!" Satella screamed as she tightened his jacket again before both of them jumped on the rooftop and landed into the markets with crowds. She finally got put down and can't stop her shaky legs after that.

She glared at Naruto for jumping and running so fast she can't even handle his speed. This guy has a crazy mind.

"What?" He asked with an innocent look on his face.

"Don't you ever do that again...? By the way, why are we here?" She wondered, but she saw his finger points at something. When she looked in that direction where he's pointing at, he saw the little girl crying in front of crowds. "A girl?"

"Yeah, we can't just leave the girl in the market."

Satella blinked her eyes in surprise to see him care about the girl. "I understand. After we help the girl, we'll go back to find my insignia." She said as she walked toward the girl and bent over at her level. "I'm sorry I'm not who you were looking for. So, what's the matter? Did you get lost?"

She comforted the little girl, but she started to cry and made her get shocked. Satella tried to come up with something before the little girl got uncomfortable. However, Naruto came in and showed her the two bells from his back pouch. He rang the bells, and her crying stopped as she looked at the bells.

"Wanna try it?" Naruto asked with a lighthearted smile, watching the little girl grab the bells and shook them in several times to make noises. The noises changed her sad face into a happy face.

Then, Naruto lifted her up and placed her on his shoulders. The little girl saw everything and felt taller than everyone.

"Wow! Oni-chan, I'm taller than everyone!" She said.

"Yes, you're very tall! Taller than people!"

Satella blinked her eyes in amazement at how Naruto stopped the child's cry. At first, she thought he was a crazy person, but now he's a gentle person.

* * *

A couple of minutes later, it wasn't too hard to stop the little girl's cry for being separated from her parents. The good news is Naruto and Satella are looking for her mother. The mother must have found out her daughter is lost and have gone looking for her.

"I see. You got separated from your mom?" Naruto wondered, looking up at the little girl who nodded to him. "Don't worry! Just leave it to me and this pretty girl here."

"Okay!" The little girl said as she continued to play with bells.

"You're too nice with the child. I thought you were just a crazy person," Satella said with a smile.

"I'm a crazy person, but I have a good heart! Am I right?" Naruto asked the little girl as she replied him a 'yes' word.

The silver-haired girl looked at them as they talked to each other. The little girl is so calm, happy, and no longer cries because Naruto cheered her up by giving her his bell ring. Seeing the little girl is being happy with him, it made her smile at them. "She's right about you, Naruto." She said.

"Do I?" Naruto wondered as he looked at the child and she smiled at him.

"Yes, you are." Satella smiled as she observed Naruto's clothes. His clothes are strange because she has never seen them before.

He wore black-orange light sweater with black hood and black pants. There was a strange white metal line in the middle of his sweater. Noticing that he wore orange sweatbands when he lifted his arms up. He wore black headband with a metal protector on the forehead.

"You're not from here, am I correct?" Satella asked.

Naruto swallowed when she asked him. It would be going to be very hard to explain to her that he's not from here. Satella won't believe his story, so there was no way he could make her believe him. Plus, he can't tell her about 9 Bijuus.

"I'm not from here. I lived in the villager from far away here, but I'm not allowed to tell anyone about my homeland location." Naruto lied. "It's for protecting my homeland from outsiders. I came here because I wanted to pay a visit, but I had no idea where I am."

"You're in the Kingdom of Lugunica. You must be a new traveler." Satella said.

So, Naruto is in the Kingdom of Lugunica. It isn't a village. This is the capital where humans and demi-humans live together. The dimension is different from his homeland. But, why is he here? This world has strong people who could be a hero that can save the world.

"I see." He said, while scratching on his back of the head with a hand. "I had to admit. This kingdom is pretty and big. A lot of people live here."

"It's always big, mister!" The little girl said.

"Oh really."

"Yes, it is!"

"Hey, Naruto." Satella said.

"What is it?" Naruto asked.

"About your jump and your speed. No human can do that. What are you?"

"Seriously? Everyone can run like that. I'm a shino-" Naruto said before he saw a woman walking in front of them. She looked very stressed, and maybe she's looking for her lost child until now the little girl yelled 'mom' as the mother looked in straight.

Naruto put the little girl down and she ran toward her mother for a hug. "Looks like she found her mom." He said.

"Yes, I'm glad-" Satella gasped as she got scooped again in Naruto's arms. "No, Naruto! I don't like that!"

"Naruto, yes!" He smirked as he jumped up from the ground.

* * *

"You can open your eyes now, Satella." Naruto said, looking at the silver-haired girl who covered her face. She's still scared of his jumping and speed.

Satella moved her hands and opened her eyes to see it. They're in some kind of old village with homeless people. She didn't know how she got here, but she realized they're outside of the capital.

"Are you sure this is the right place?" She asked.

Naruto nodded, he's sure this is the right place where the thief girl's hiding. Right now, this must be it.

They walked together and searched her. Examining the place, it was awful for homeless people to live here, and even the children lived here. The houses are completely torn and almost destroyed. Some of them are already destroyed.

No food, no water, and no bed. The clothes that homeless people wear are torn up really bad. Some of them are sick, but nothing can be done to help them.

Naruto had to watch out for them and stay close with Satella. Who knows someone could attack them or mug them. "Man, people living here are awful." He said.

"I know..." Satella said, looking around the village but she noticed their glares at her appearance. She started to feel uncomfortable with this.

"Satella, are you ok? You should stay close to me." Naruto said as he noticed the people were only glared at the silver-haired girl. That expression she had... was scared and uncomfortable of those people, but this felt very familiar.

"I'm ok. Thank you for concerning me..." She said softly as she walked a little fast so she could catch up with Naruto. "I can use magic."

_"That's right. I almost forgot that she has magic."_ He thought as he sensed magic from Satella. "Anyway, you can't use big magic here or else you'll hurt people."

"He's smart. I advise you to stay close to him because I'm almost out of time." Puck said.

"Almost time? I see. You're a spirit animal with a time limit, am I correct?" Naruto guessed. Yeah, this is very familiar to his summoning jutsu without a time limit.

"You're correct. I am a spirit. It takes a lot of mana just to appear in physical form. So at night, I return to the crystal I was summoned from and prepare for the emergence of the sun. On average, my ideal staying time is from about nine to five."

"We'll be fine without Puck. We have to move forward." She said

"You're right, but sorry... I'm at my limit." Puck said as he jumped on top of the crystal on Satella's hands. "Don't do anything reckless. If it comes down to it, use the odo to summon me again."

"Thank you and sorry for giving you hard work."

"It's ok. Take care of the rest and her, Naruto." Puck said before he disappeared into multiple green orbs and flew into the crystal.

Naruto is very impressed by what animal spirit looked like when it went back home. Summoning animal spirits sounds pretty cool from his impression.

"Hey, Naruto. Why did you help me?" Satella asked curiously.

"Well...you said your insignia is important." Naruto stated as she looked at him carefully. "The reason why I help you is because it's my job to help people and I love helping people. When people are lost or stolen, I will help them and save their lives from a dangerous situation. What if they don't trust me, I'll just have to make them believe and tell them that I won't give up until the work is finished. I will tell them I never go back on my word."

Satella was shocked. It barely hit her heart and had an emotional feeling from him. She was so sure that he's telling the truth, unlike the other people who lied and tricked her. At first, she thought he was a bad person, but...it is so rare to see him being so kind to her. By the way, Satella realized she's talking with him, a human, which is something he didn't know about her.

Naruto is actually a good human with a pure heart and one of rarest humans she ever met. It was because she never had an experience with good people in her life.

"Emilia."

"Huh?" Naruto looked at Satella.

"Satella isn't my real name. My real name is Emilia. Just Emilia." Emilia said, releasing a pretty smile at him.

"Emilia... I like you name because it sounds pretty dattabayo!" He said with a dazzled smile, causing the silver-haired girl to blush. But then, his expression changed when he sensed the aura. "Emilia, we found her."

Emilia looked straight and found an old house. Not a house, but this is some kind of a bar.

Naruto and Emilia looked at each other, nodding to each other before they began to walk toward the bar. Emilia stayed behind his back and decided to go along with his advice because her magic is too powerful. However, she is still gonna use it when it'll be real trouble.

"I'll knock on the door. You stay behind me." Naruto said as Emilia nodded before he walked toward the door and knocked on the door several times. He sensed two auras in the bars so that means the thief girl wasn't alone. "Hello! Is anyone in there?"

The door was opened for him, but he spotted a bulky figure with old age. His height is pretty big. The old man has white strands of hair lining his eyebrows and bald. He wore a sleeveless vest and possessed a crimson symbol across the side of his left head.

To Naruto's surprised expression, he didn't know that the old man's height was taller than him. Judging his presence, he looked pretty strong and muscular and could hit anyone with one punch.

"Can you let us in?" Naruto asked as the old man nodded without a word and let them get into the bar.

When they entered the bar, they finally found a thief who stole insignia from Emilia. Her cloak is no longer with her and it revealed her appearance. She's a short girl with fair skin and medium-length golden hair with a black bow and red eyes.

She wore a black top, red scarf, and black pants that are incomplete on the left side, where she also wears a red ribbon. She also wore a vest, gloves, brown shoes, and has a belt with a sheath of a combat knife.

"Ron! Why did you let them in?!" The girl yelled at the old man's name.

"They're our customers, Felt." Ron called the girl's name.

Felt clenched her teeth when she saw the silver-haired girl. "You never quit, do you? I'm telling you, just give up already! And, you!" She said as her gaze left Emilia for Naruto. "I never thought you would help her to find me here!"

"Look, kid. You stole something from her, so give her back. I don't want anyone to get hurt." Naruto said before he felt cold and saw the white sparkles above Emilia's head in the air. Then, the sparkles gathered into the ice crystal and were sharp.

"I have only one demand. Return my insignia. It's very important to me." Emilia demanded, posing her arm out for preparing to shoot.

"If she were just another magic user, I wouldn't back down, but this one's trouble..." Rom said.

"What's with you, Old Man Rom? Admitting defeat before we even fight?!" Felt asked.

That had Naruto surprised. This is what magic in the fantasy world looks like. It is pretty amazing she can use ice magic because not many ninjas could use ice jutsu in his world. Well, Haku can use ice and is the only person who can use it.

"Young lady, you're an elf, ain't ya?" Rom asked as Naruto turned to him and heard him calling Emilia an elf.

"Not exactly. I'm..." Emilia struggled to say that 'word' in front of Naruto as she looked at him. Her face was worried, but she had no choice to reveal her secret. "I'm a half-elf."

Naruto noticed her face have a worried expression when she revealed she's a half-elf. Why is she afraid of that?

That question would have to wait, and they're here to get Emilia's insignia back. Wait a minute... he noticed Felt has insignia and wasn't even worth anything.

"Then, Felt! Why did you steal insignia from her? It's just a badge and that item isn't worth it!" He said. If he's correct about this, there could be possible reasons why she steals it from Emilia.

Emilia had never thought to ask the question when the blond asked. She wasn't sure, but this started to get the sound sense. "Naruto, why did you ask that question?" She asked.

"Because-" Naruto gasped as he grabbed her waist and pulled her toward him, unsheathing his kunai to deflect a looking-carve blade from stabbing her back. That sneak-attack almost killed her, but lucky for her that he's here with her.

Emilia was shocked when he saved her life from the attack. She didn't feel anything or sense the enemy's mana. Fortunately, Naruto saved her life.

"Oh my~ Oh my~ I missed my chance because of this handsome boy. But, I'm impressed you know I was coming and blocked my attack." The woman grinned as the door shut behind her.

She has long black hair tied into one tail on the left side along with eyes that droop, giving her a gentle aura. She wears a black dress and wields curved black daggers from the northern lands.

"I knew you were coming here. Who are you?" Naruto asked.

"I am Elsa Granhiert. For those two people, it is I who hired them to steal insignia and lead the half-elf here." The woman introduced herself as she looked at Emilia.

Looking at her cold eyes stares at Emilia, she's going to kill her and everyone in here since they saw everything. Elsa is a dangerous assassin and seemed to aim for everyone's life. Felt and Ron have nothing to do with this, they didn't know she was going to kill Emilia.

Emilia was prepared with her ice magic for Elsa, but she wasn't too sure if she could beat her. Without Puck's help, they wouldn't have beaten her because Puck is strong enough to face her.

But, she saw Naruto walk in front of her, seeing his smile at her means he's going to protect her life from Elsa.

"I won't let you do that, Elsa." Naruto said, turning to see Emilia who had a worry on her face. "Don't worry, Emilia. I'll protect you with my life. I won't allow my friends to die. Trust me."

"Naruto..." Emilia said softly as she looked at his smile. Those words he just said...

"Aww~ A brave hero is willing to protect half-elf with his life from me." Elsa said as she licked it with a tongue.

"That woman isn't human. Do not let your guard down." Kurama warned.

Naruto nodded as he began to move on the fighting stance and saw Elsa charge at him. He blocked the blade of a dagger with his kunai, not letting her kill Emilia as he pushed her away from his battle. As Emilia is away, the shinobi grabbed Elsa's arm and threw her into the stairs.

He then charged Elsa and began to jump into the air, preparing to finish her. Just before he almost stabbed it into her chest, the assassin rolled over her body to the right and evaded his attack. When she saw his kunai thrust on the floor, she went by slashing her dagger on his side of the stomach.

Naruto rolled his eyes to the left and saw her aiming for his side of the body. He quickly took out shurikens and threw at her to make her dodge. She dodged it, but she started to climb on the wall like a spider and delivered a dive attack. Sadly for her, he is far from that! His eyes are still sharp and planned to dodge, but ice spikes stopped her for him. The shooter is revealed to be Emilia, who shot ice magic at Elsa.

"Thank you, Emilia. Nice cover!" Naruto spoke in English accent as he continued to fight Elsa.

Emilia aimed at Elsa and tried to shoot her, but she's afraid she will shoot at Naruto. They're moving too fast and hard for her to aim at Elsa unless she can use the trump card. No, Emilia can't do that because there's a chance she'll kill both of them. All she can do is to stop her attack.

Naruto and Elsa clashed with their weapon as both of them jumped away from each other.

"Your fighting is amazing. You aren't bad for a human, Whisker~" She said as she struck the whisker-man with her dagger. Her blade aimed at his head, but he swung his left arm to block her attack.

Naruto delivered a powerful open-handed strike on her stomach, causing her cough blood. The power of an open-handed strike pushed her with force and crashed into the counter. "Give up, Elsa. You can't beat me." He said as he watched her get up from a counter. He goes on his fighting stance, but he hears her giggle.

"You are an amazing fighter! It is wonderful. Wonderful!" She said as she took out another dagger from her back of the waist. Then, she charged toward the blond man with dual daggers. "Do entertain me, please!"

Naruto dodged one of the short daggers and blocked the other one with his kunai, but he saw one dagger sliced the table in half instantly. This dagger must be very sharp and can slice a tree into two. He stopped the sharp blade by grabbing her right arm. His kunai blocked the other dagger that was reaching for his side.

At that moment, he saw the ice spikes fly toward Elsa as she dodged them by staying away from him. His eyes saw Emilia who shot the ice spikes for him to help him. Now, Naruto charged towards Elsa, deflecting her weapons when she attacked and kicked on her side of the body.

Naruto had his chance to use his signature move. He crossed his fingers to create clones to assist him for his signature move. The clones kicked Elsa up into the air, each yelling "U-ZU-MA-KI" as they did. While she is airborne, Naruto himself jumped on the clone's back up into the air and performed a spinning heel drop, sending her back towards the ground.

"Naruto Rendan!" He yelled as he finished his signature move and landed on the ground. Delivering one final kick on her head, it should damage her brain and won't be able to get up. She's gone for good. The dagger dropped on the ground next to his foot after she got slammed into the ground.

"Is it over?" Emilia wondered as she started to approach him, but she stopped when she saw his stop sign. By the way, she was shocked at Naruto's fighting skills and he can create clones. She saw they made a teamwork attack.

Naruto stared at the destroyed hole where Elsa landed. His eyes are serious because he still sensed her aura. His signature move shouldn't have destroyed her brain and called it a game over, but somehow she survived from his teamwork attack. At that moment, he felt like Elsa was behind him.

"Behind you!" Emilia warned him that Elsa was behind him. She raised her arms and shot ice spikes at the woman's face before killing Naruto from behind, but her blade blocked the ice spikes.

However, Naruto's clone kicked Elsa on her side and forced her to stay away from real Naruto. The assassin forgot he still has clones with him. She wiped out her blood from her mouth and forehead after she got hit. Luckily, she ain't human or else she wouldn't have died. That whiskered boy isn't a human, and he's well-trained, but he's far stronger than her.

There was no way she could beat him, but her speed can as she looked at Emilia with a death stare. Elsa began to chase her target and ditched Naruto behind, raising her sharp dagger at her. But suddenly, Naruto already appeared in front of her.

That's impossible! He was left behind after she ditched him with her fast speed. She swore she almost kills Emilia, but he is right in front of her. Looking at his azure eyes, they're filled with danger and anger.

The blond ninja slashed right over her body with his kunai, but the dark blade cut his left cheek. His two clones delivered a kick at her face together. Naruto formed a Rasengan in his free hand as he jumped from the clone's back. He dove down and thrust his Rasengan into her gut where her wound is. Emilia watched as the ball of blue mana twisted the woman's gut. The light and wind came out from it. The three clones came in front of her and shielded her before a blast hit them.

The whole house got destroyed from the blue explosive and blast.

Emilia stopped from shielding herself as she looked over the three clones to see what happened. Everything is destroyed. The whole house is destroyed. She saw Naruto's head from the bottom hole as she ran toward him to check if he's alright.

"Naruto?" She asked as she turned to where he's looking and found Elsa's body there. She's dead.

"What is she?" Naruto wondered.

"I think it was her divine protection which allows her to regenerate wounds."

Naruto looked at Emilia who figured this woman had regeneration ability. That explains how she comes back and is still alive from his signature move. At least, she's dead because he used Rasengan to destroy her. The first battle is over. He turned around to look at Emilia who was worried. She didn't have any injuries from the assassin's attack, so that's good.

"Are you okay, Emilia?"

"I'm fine, but you're hurt." Emilia said as she looked at the cut on his left cheek from Elsa's dagger. "Let me heal you."

Naruto grabbed her hand from reaching the cut wound on his left cheek as he shook his head. "I'm ok, Emilia. I have a healing factor." He smiled as his left cheek healed when he wiped the blood out.

It's a very nice offer from Emilia's help who wanted to heal his wound. She is a sweet girl.

"Okay, Naruto." Emilia said as she put her arm down and looked at his left cheek. It got healed after he wiped out the blood.

She was surprised to see that. No humans have that healing ability with them because only demi-human or magic that can heal themselves. However, no need to ask him that. Naruto helped her to find insignia and he saved her life from Elsa. His words are true because he protected her with his life.

"Thank you for saving me." She said.

"You're welcome." Naruto said before he saw those people again. It's Felt and Rom. They came back and brought a man with a white uniform. He's a tall and young man with flaming red hair and blue eyes. He wore some kind of royal guard uniform with white colors.

"Reinhard." Emilia called the man's name as Naruto looked at her.

"You know him?" He asked.

"Yes, he's Sword Saint and a member of the Royal Guard." She answered.

"I found Felt and Rom. They explained to me what happened, so they showed me here." Reinhard said as he looked at the messy house or destroyed house. "But, it seems like someone took care of the problem here. Who was it?"

"That'll be me." Naruto said as he noticed the red-haired man looked at him. "There was a woman named Elsa and attempting to murder Emilia. She's dead, but just found out she's a vampire. Any clues why?"

"I don't know, but she was the Bowel Hunter. It was derived from her unique killing style. You can say that she works for the Assassin Organization." Reinhard said as he looked at Emilia. "Emilia-sama, are you hurt?"

"I'm fine. I wanted to thank Naruto for saving me." She said as the blond man smiled and waved his hand to greet. Seeing him do that, it made her giggle at him.

"Naruto, thank you for protecting Emilia-sama. By the way, I'm very impressed that you're unhurt because Elsa is a well-trained assassin. What country are you from?" Reinhard asked.

Naruto started to get nervous about his question because he's not from here. There was no way he can tell them that he's from another world because nobody believes his story. "Well...I'm from a different country and it's a secret village, so I'm not allowed to tell you about my homeland in order to keep it safe."

"I see." He accepted, but he still had a feeling that he didn't tell them. "Lady Emilia, what's your relation to him?"

Emilia didn't know how to say if Naruto is a friend to her or not. She just met him today, so pretty sure he's gonna say no after she revealed that she's a half-elf.

"We're friends."

The half-elf was shocked when he said they were friends as she looked at him. "Did...did you say we're friends?" She asked. She hadn't many friends throughout her life because she's a half-elf. No one ever accepts her friend, but this blond human said they're friends.

"Of course! I'd love for us to be friends-ttabayo!" Naruto said with a smile.

"B-But I'm a half-elf... are you sure-" Emilia gasped as her hands were grabbed by Naruto's hands.

"You might be half-elf to everyone, but to me, you're a beautiful girl with a good heart and soul. You saved my life from Elsa and helped the child back in the market. I like people like you!" Naruto smiled.

The half-elf's eyes widened with shock when he told her that. He...He doesn't seem to be afraid of her appearance. "Thank you, Naruto." She said as her smile grew wider.


	2. Chapter 2

_"You know you destroyed my bar." Rom said, sounding a little aggressive as his arms are crossed._

_"So sorry about your bar, Rom. I had to end Elsa in her place to save Emilia's life." Naruto said, looking at Elsa's ashes in the hole and the bar. This whole bar is completely destroyed because his Rasengan is quite powerful to destroy a small house._

_"Come to think of it, you destroyed the whole bar with magic orb before I got here. I'm impressed." Reinhard said as he checked the damages Naruto caused. Yeah, everything is gone._

_Looking at the new guy with spiky hair, he didn't seem to be a knight or not around here. Reinhard learned his name is Naruto Uzumaki that defeated the Bowel Hunter, Elsa Granhiert which is what she called. It appeared that she's former of the Assassin Organization and has an order to kill Emilia. Comparing her to Naruto, he was more like an assassin, but he called himself a shinobi which makes sense with the kunai he had._

_"So, what's next? What about those two?" Naruto meant Rom and Felt who lived here.._

_"Don't worry about them. I know what to do with them." Reinhard said. "What about you, Naruto? You told me you're a new traveler."_

_"I don't know because I don't have money with me to rent the hotel." He said with a bit smile like it was nothing. The truth is he didn't have that kind of money in this fantasy world._

_"Naruto, you can come to my house and live with me." Emilia said with a lighthearted smile, causing the blond to turn to her with a surprise expression on his face. "You've been very helpful to me and you deserve a reward. So, you can come to live with my house."_

_"Really?"_

_"Yes, Naruto."_

_"I… Thank you, Emilia."_

"Naruto. Naruto, wake up. We're going to my home."

Naruto was awakened by the girl's voice when his eyes were opened and turned over to see the silver-haired girl who woke him up. Wow, Emilia's up earlier than him because he usually sleeps until 10 or 11 in the morning. But just now, he remembered they had to go home and she wanted him to live with her.

"Good morning, Emilia." He yawned while stretching his arms up. He needs to be ready before heading to Emilia's home.

"Morning, Naruto. How was your sleep?" She asked.

"Much better!" He broke a smile as he got off a bed and went to the chair where he placed his jacket. His weapon tool is on the desk so he packed it with him, but he's missing something.

Then, a finger tapped on his shoulder and he turned around to see Emilia who held the metal headband in her hands for him.

"Looking for this?" Emilia asked gently with a smile.

"Thank you, Emilia." He replied as he grabbed his headband and wrapped it around his forehead. He was starting to do something, but he noticed Emilia gazed at his headband.

"That headband seems to be important to you." She said as she stared at the strange curving symbol on the metal. "What is that symbol?"

"It means leaf. It represented my village. It mainly meant that two clans had a friendship. So, it was indicated to be the symbol of friendship."

"Oh…" She understood as she nodded. "Then, it must be special for you."

"It's special to me because my teacher gave me his own headband at graduation. He comforted me not to give up my life and my dream, so he gifted me after I saved his life. He wanted me to become a great man to make everything peaceful." He smiled. He never forgets that time Sensei Iruka comforted him and gave him his own headband.

"Your teacher must be a great person. I'm sure he'll be watching you." Emilia smiled at his story. It was a sweet story between Naruto and his teacher.

Naruto nodded while staring at his headband. He was wondering how things are going in his world. For sure that everyone was looking for him. They don't have the portal jutsu, but Sasuke does and the only one who can use it. It'll take him a while to find him because this world is new and it will be hard for him to find it.

The new world wasn't too bad at all. Everything is fine, but it's just like he needs to get used to it.

"Naruto…?" Emilia asked softly as Naruto snapped out from his thoughts and turned to look at her. "You seemed a little distant... are you okay?"

The blond man stared at the silver-haired girl until he realized she was worried about him. Emilia is very careful and sweet. "I'm fine Emilia! Don't worry. I'm just trying to figure things out-ttabayo!" He assured her.

"Good." She smiled. "Naruto, breakfast is ready downstairs."

Naruto nodded as he and Emilia went out of the room. They walked downstairs and found the breakfast on the table. Emilia was the one who sat down first before him, but she looked at him and saw him doing a prayer.

"Itadakimasu!" Naruto prayed as he began to eat, but he noticed Emilia looking at him. "What's up?"

"Itadakimasu? What does that mean?" Emilia asked.

"It means thanks for the food. It's a kinda religious thing in my homeland." Naruto said, but was surprised that she doesn't know about that. Maybe, this world is fantasy without knowing about his language. "You should say it, too."

"You want me to say that?" She asked.

"Yeah, it's for respecting people who cook the food for you."

"O-Ok…" Emilia said as she did a prayer like what he did. "Itadakimasu!"

"There you go! Now, we eat the breakfast-ttabayo! Remember, before you eat, you always say that word." Naruto said.

Emilia nodded as she started to eat breakfast. Well, she learned a new word from him.

* * *

Man, this road is very long and far away from the capital. The road took some hours to get to Emilia's house. Naruto didn't know her house had a long road for them to travel.

"Where are we?" He asked as he sat next to Emilia in the carriage while the driver was riding the horses.

"We're almost there. We passed by the village until you will see my house." She said before Puck flew out from her crystal necklace, and he looked at them. Puck met the human boy again and heard what happened from last night.

"Lia told me what happened last night. Thank you for saving her life. If you hadn't been there with her, she wouldn't have been dead right now. I'm glad you were there with her and saved her." He said.

"It's no problem. I'm just glad I'm here with her." Naruto said.

"I'm sorry that I didn't do much to help you, Naruto-sama." Emilia said as her hands clenched for not helping Naruto. She felt so useless.

"Don't worry about it, Emilia. You've already saved me twice. Why wouldn't I repay the favor?" Naruto asked.

"No, Naruto-sama! I-I wasn't-"

"Just call me Naruto. I can see it in your eyes. Don't be hard on yourself. You are strong." He said.

Emilia had never been on a first name base with anyone because she always says that to everyone with respect. It was rare that Naruto told her not to use that word calling him with sama. He even became her first friend without asking him, and she's a half-elf. She never had been friends with humans because they hated her.

However seeing Naruto here with her, he didn't seem to be afraid of her appearance and wouldn't care if she reveals herself as a half-elf. He's… He's a strange one, but good-hearted.

It's very nice he encouraged her not to feel bad on herself when she looked down. Naruto is a sweet talk and a good soul.

"Thank you, Naruto. You're very kind-" Emilia noticed her spirit creature likes to be around with Naruto. He's usually very cautious to humans and demi-humans for her safety, but also part of the rare moment to see him like that.

"So, Puck. Why did you call her Lia?" Naruto wondered.

"Because I created a nickname for her." Puck said, flying toward him and landing on his hand to relax. This feeling is surprisingly nice, warm, and comfortable for him to rest.

He looked at Naruto's eyes to check it, but suddenly got chilled down his spine in seconds. Wh-What is this feeling from him? Those eyes of his have experienced death and war, but there are more than that. It's almost like he has fought the war before. Naruto's mana is strong, very strong.

Puck won't lie about his presence… he's a very strong human with large mana in him, but something off about him. It was another one, but more. The manas are quite larger and powerful than his mana. What is he? Where did he come from?

"Puck?" Naruto asked.

Puck snapped out and delivered a smile to him. "Sorry! Sorry! I was just thinking of things." He said.

"Uh-huh…" Naruto sounded so unsurely, starting to purr underneath Puck's chin with his fingers. Seriously, his fur is hella soft. Judging his cute appearance, he's pretty strong and stronger than Kiba's pet, Akamaru.

"Hey, hey, Naruto." Puck whispered to him in his ear as he looked at him. "Can you do me a favor?"

"Sure, what is it?"

"Well, actually, Lia is one hundred and fifteen years old. She knows everything, but…" Puck looked at Emilia and back to Naruto. "Can you teach her something? She's getting very interested in your words and what you say."

Then, Naruto was frozen when he learned Emilia's age was…hundred and fifteen years old. He blinked his eyes at her age and she looked the same age as his age, but no, she's far older than him. "Y-Yeah…?" He wondered, sounding like he doesn't know how to respond.

Wow, he didn't know Emilia's age would be…old and also want new words from him. It was the same thing as his homeland, but she doesn't know anything, according to what Puck told him. Yep, it's a promise for him that he'll teach her how to say it like him.

"What are you guys whispering about?" Emilia asked curiously.

"Nothing, Lia!"

"Yeah, it was nothing! We just talk about friends-ttabayo!"

Both of them gave Emilia their thumb up at the same time like nothing happened. However, the silver-haired girl showed her cute pout at them for not telling her. It's not fair how those two kept the secret from her and not telling her. She wanted to know what they're whispering about.

"She's suspicious of us." Puck whispered.

"Don't worry about her. I'm a shinobi. As long as we can keep it quiet, Emilia won't-OUCH!" Naruto screamed in pain, getting his ear pinched by Emilia's hand and also grabbing Puck's ear.

"Don't try to hide from me, you two. If you keep this up, I'll get mad!" She warned with anger.

"Ow! Ow! You are mad! You are mad!" Naruto and Puck spoke at the same time as Emilia let go of their ears.

Naruto and Puck were stroking their ears after she released them. Damn, that's hurt, really hurt! She pinched them really hard! She's maybe a beautiful girl, but she has a motherly personality and they don't want to mess with her.

"We're here!" Puck said as Naruto walked out to see outside.

This place was huge! A massive garden with fountains and walking paths took up the large area. Damn, they got everything! Mostly for the huge ass house!

Naruto didn't know how to describe her mansion. It is pretty big. He wished he could have a house like that because he only lives in his apartment. Whoever owns this place was ridiculous. When he got off the carriage, he followed Emilia to her mansion while he's exploring the place.

"Emilia, you own this place?" He asked.

"Oh no. It was Roswaal-san who owns this mansion. "Emilia said.

"You seem very shocked." Puck said as he sat on Naruto's shoulder.

"Yeah, I am. I…I don't know what to say, but this is amazing. Is he living by himself?"

"Nope, he's not. We have three people live in the mansion." Emilia said.

Naruto nodded as they entered the mansion and he looked very shocked. Inside of the mansion, the room is hella big. The details are so nice. The pictures are all over the walls and the other stuff. Speaking of which, the blond man didn't see anyone live here. Yeah, he knows that Puck told him the owner isn't alone in the mansion.

Still, where's everybody? It's so quiet in here. He thought there'll be more people.

"Welcome home, Emilia-sama."

The blond man heard two persons who called Emilia's name as he turned around to look who it was. He saw two girls with maid dresses. They all wore the same dresses, but something different about them.

The girl on the left has medium length light pink hair that covers her left eye, and darkish pink eyes. She also has hair clips towards the right side of her hair. The other girl on the right has medium length sky blue hair that covers her right eye and light blue eyes. Her appearance looks the same as the girl with pink hair.

Both of them are twin sisters, but their eyes and hairs are different. The girl has pink eyes and pink hair. The second girl has blue eyes and blue hair.

"Hello, Rem and Ram. Where's Roswaal?" Emilia asked.

"He has an important meeting today, but he'll be back soon." The girl with blue hair said as she noticed Emilia brought a stranger with her in the mansion. "Emilia-sama, who is this new guest?"

"His name is Naruto Uzumaki. He saved my life from the attack. He doesn't have a home, so he'll be living here with us." The silver-haired girl said.

Naruto saw the two maids bowing to him respectfully as he's the new guest of the mansion. He sensed their auras, and they're not the humans. Mostly, he caught the stronger one which belonged to the maid with blue hair. Strange… something is fishy about her and her sister.

He gave them an awkwardly waving hand gesture. "Hi, it's nice to meet you two." He greeted.

"Welcome to your new home, Uzumaki-san. I'm Rem." The girl with blue hair introduced herself as she pointed at the girl with pink hair. "This is my sister, Ram."

"It's nice to meet you, Uzumaki-san." The girl with pink hair said.

"You can call me Naruto. Just Naruto." He smiled as he gave a wave hand to them. He didn't mean to be a little rude to them, but he didn't like to be calling his last name and word 'san'.

"Very well then. We shall call you Naruto." Ram said.

"That's better." Naruto said as he looked around the whole place while walking. Damn, two maidens in the mansion. He thought there'll be more of them and Puck isn't kidding.

So, he met two maidens Rem and Ram, but there's one more person that he wants to meet. He always wants to meet anyone, so he'll get to know of them. That was his thing because he wanted to make friends. But, he wouldn't dare to make friends with them. This is a fantasy world and people have magic. They wouldn't like to trust strangers.

Naruto has 9 Bijuus inside him and wouldn't like to tell them about them. Afraid that they'll think of him is a demon or demi-human whatever they called. Maybe they'll attack him because of that. He and 9 Bijuus have already decided not to tell them about their secret. Not where he's from. Not the kind of powers he has.

Everything needs to be sealed and secret no matter until he can trust them. Yes, of course he'll find a way to get back to his world. If not, he'll have to wait for his friend to find him here.

"Hey, Naruto." Emilia said as Naruto looked at her. "I'm going to my room and change my clothes. Rem and Ram will find you a room and help you around here."

"Thank you, Emilia." He smiled.

* * *

"So, tell me… are you the only ones who live here?" Naruto asked as he followed two maidens in the hallway.

"Yes, we are the only ones who live here." Ram said.

"We don't have a lot of guests who live here. You're our first guest who is going to live here with us." Rem said.

"I see." Naruto said as he looked away and explored around the mansion. Damn, this place is huge and has a lot of stuff.

He doesn't like saying that to them, but this mansion is really hard working for two maidens. Those two must have been working very hard for the owner. Honestly, they need to hire more maids to help the two girls. There was another option that he can help them with their work by using the clones to clean the whole mansion.

Pretty good idea to use that. He could wait until the owner comes back from his business.

"You two worked very hard for this." He said.

"Thank you for concern us, but we do that every day." Rem said.

"Don't you need more maidens? I mean it's just two of you."

"Rem and I are the only ones that can do it together. You don't have to be worried.." Ram said

The blond man nodded, but still…they need to hire more maids to help them. "I understand." He said before he stopped when he sensed the aura on his left. The girls stopped when they saw Naruto stopped.

Something strange about this door, but it looks like he's going to have to find out. He reached for the door and opened before entering the room. His expression is amazed when he found the library. This mansion has a library. The books are everywhere on the book shelves. This room is very clean and quiet because he sensed a one person's aura in here.

"I'm impressed you found my room-kashira."

Naruto heard a girl's voice, but her voice is high-pitched like a child. He looked it down and found a little cute girl sitting on her chair and reading the book.

She has long cream colored hair that she has tied in two twin drills along with blue eyes that have a butterfly pattern at the center. She wore a frilled dress with pink ribbons, tights, and shoes. A tiny crown lays latched upon the rear right side of her hair, with a butterfly-shaped ribbon joining her cape at her sternum.

"What?" He confused, blinking his eyes to see this… little girl. That can't be her…the owner of the mansion because the owner likes to read in the library.

"Oh yes, Naruto kun. This is Beatrice-sama." Ram introduced him to her as she looked at the girl. "Beatrice-sama, this is Naruto-kun. He'll be living with us."

"May I ask why-kashira?" She asked as she showed bad manners to Naruto.

"Because it was Emilia-sama's request." Rem answered as she looked at Naruto who had a confused look on his face. "You seem confused, Naruto-kun."

"Yeah, I am…" He said.

"Oh. This is Beatrice's Door Crossing. A magic that can connect any door in the mansion to her room." Rem said.

"Incredible…" Naruto thought as he sensed her aura. That girl isn't just a child. She has magic like Emilia.

"Hn." Beatrice grunted as she closed the book and put it on the table.

Since Naruto's in the library, he wanted to explore for a minute. Lots of books on the shelf and so organize. This is already more impressive than the library building in his world. Having a library in the mansion or in his old apartment like Beatrice's room, it'll be very cool. However, this isn't just a room. He doesn't have a seeing ability, but he can feel this room isn't a room.

This magic is from that little girl. He won't lie about this, but her magic is very cool that she can connect any door in the mansion to her room.

"This is an amazing library. I can't believe you used magic to connect any door in this mansion to your room." Naruto said. "Come of thinking this, I really like your magic-ttabayo."

"You are a clever human for finding my library." She said as she got off the chair and walked toward the blond man to greet.

"Yes, like the two maidens said. I'm Naruto Uzumaki, it's nice to meet you." Naruto said as he gave a hand gesture to shake her hand, but she doesn't look like she's going to shake his hand.

Beatrice placed her hand on his stomach. "Don't move." She warned as she started to use a magic on him

Naruto looked in confusion, but he nodded and did what she told him to do. His eyes widened in shock when he felt his chakra is draining out. It was that little girl who drained his chakra to her. She can transfer magic! However, his body doesn't feel tired from her. Beatrice didn't drain too much chakra from really draining, but she collected his chakra from his body. This isn't bad because he can't feel pain from draining.

She is really good at chakr-mana transfer. No mistake, but she's really good at it.

…

…

…

What a minute! If Beatrice is collecting his chakra without realizing that he has 9 Bijuus, which means she's going to take…oh shit! It's too late to warn her when she suddenly fell with a painful scream. Naruto rushed and grabbed her waist before slamming on the ground from the heat blast. Rem and Ram are shocked when they see Beatrice fell for transferring his mana.

Naruto had to check on her hand after his mana hurt her. This is bad because her hand is burned with a smoke. The one mana she transferred is Kurama's chakra. He didn't know that could hurt her.

_"Damn it, Kurama!"_ He thought.

**"It's her fault for trying to steal my chakra without asking. Remember, Naruto. We are linked together." Kurama said.**

Kurama is right because him and Naruto are linked together. Their bonds are too strong.

Rem and Ram were worried about Beatrice when they saw this. They rushed toward her, but she stopped them with an open-hand.

"Shit, are you okay?! Were you trying to steal my energy?" Naruto asked as he took a water bottle from his pouch and poured on her burned hand to cool it down. Then, he took a bandage wrap and wrapped around her injury hand.

"I'm okay-kashira." Beatrice said as she watched him, wrapping her hand with a bandage wrap. This boy is dangerous. No mana, especially from a human should harm her in such a way.

"I'm very sorry for hurting you, but stealing someone's energy is a bad idea. Sometimes the unique energy can fight back." Naruto said as he finished wrapping Beatrice's hand. Damn, he didn't know she would collect Kurama's chakra because it's too powerful and dangerous for her. Anyway, that was a close one.

If she collected his chakra even more, her body wouldn't have burned by the red chakra. Luckily, she didn't.

"So I take it you are not human-kashira." Beatrice said.

"I'm human alright, but not just a human. I'm the shinobi." He said as he stood up and lifted the little girl up to stand on her feet.

Beatrice looked at her hand for a moment before hiding it behind her back and turning away from him. "Thank you-kashira."

"It was my fault, so I shouldn't have warned you before that." He said with a smile before he got launched from the room by the little girl with a powerful magic. Then, the door slammed right in his face.

When Beatrice closed the door, she looked at her bandaged hand once more from the human. It was nice of that human to bandage her hand...she supposed.

* * *

"This will be your room, Naruto-kun." Ram said as she and her sister showed him where his room is. It was just a normal bedroom, but at least it looks better than his old.

But, he felt uncomfortable from those maidens. They saw what happened between him and Beatrice because his chakra hurt her when she tried to drain his chakra. Well damn, he didn't really mean to hurt her that bad.

"Is there anything we can do?" Rem asked

Naruto explored for a bit and turned around to look at them. "No, that's it. Thank you for showing me." He said as the two maidens bowed and they left him from the room.

Well, at least they didn't ask him a question about his mana. He's lucky that Beatrice forgiven him already.

Those two sisters are very close. They must have worked together every day. So, he met everybody except the owner of the mansion because he had a meeting. That can wait until he returns.

He took out his jacket and his weapons on the desk. Then, he sat down on the chair and relaxed for a bit.

"What do you think guys?" He thought.

"Just stay here and enjoy it." Son said.

"The two maidens are highly alerted of you after Kurama's chakra blasted Beatrice away. You need to be careful of them." Matatabi said

Naruto nodded to Matatabi and went along with her. The two girls aren't maidens, but they know how to fight. As he's getting up now, he heard a knocking on the door caught his attention. "Who could it be?" He wondered as he went to the door and opened it. He found Emilia standing in front of his new room with a pink outfit.

"I finished changing my clothes. I hope they're not doing anything bad to you, Naruto." Emilia said.

"It's alright. I understand their reasons." He said.

Again, she wore a pink outfit and almost looked the same as her other outfit, but this one is pink and her sleeves are much slender. Naruto had admitted about her appearance… She looked beautiful.

"Naruto?" Emilia wondered.

"Oh! My bad, my bad!" The blond man said with a blush as he turned away from her. "Anyways, Emilia. I know everything about the mansion, so I was going outside in the garden. Wanna come?"

"Sure."

* * *

"Wow, this is amazing." Naruto amazed as he looked around the place in the yard. It's big and long. This is a good place for him to train here in this.

"Yes, it is beautiful." Emilia agreed as she walked on his side and looked at him. When the sunlight spotted his face, he looked so different.

Then, she had a question on her face when Naruto walked ahead of her and moved unusual movements by stretching his legs and his arms out. She goes by observing him like she has never seen that movement before.

"Those are unusual movements. What are you doing?" She asked.

"Warm-up exercises. You know gotta warm up before doing exercise or training. Everybody does that." Naruto said. "You have not seen this before?"

"No, I don't think so." She answered as she sat on the ground and watched him do what he does. At that moment, she was surprised when Naruto summoned a clone.

They looked the same with clothes and body. That's the clone he summoned to fight Elsa and saved her life from her.

"Hey, Naruto."

"What's up?"

"I saw what you did from yesterday. Was that a clone?"

"I'm surprised you know that. Yeah, that's a clone." Naruto answered as he and his clone did a fist pump.

"It's called Kage Bunshin." The clone said.

Kage Bunshin? She has never heard those words before. That can't be an elf's language because no one ever summons the clones.

"Wow! So, that's a clone!" Puck amazed as he flew around them and looked at their appearance. "That's interesting."

"Pretty cool." The clone said.

"Yeah, it was." He nodded as he used his paw to touch the clone's face. It felt real from him. "Are you real?"

"I'm over here!" The real Naruto said as he stood behind Puck and the pet turned around to see him. "Yeah, he does look real to me. Of course, you wanna ask that question. Yes, he had the same movements like mine. I always used clones to use combination attacks by working together."

"I see, I see." Puck said. So, this is like a teamwork attack. Same movement and same appearance. That's pretty good for Naruto and the clones to do the teamwork.

"Poke!" The clone said as he poked his finger Puck on his side of the stomach. "Ninja poke!"

"Oh…you wanna fight!? Take this, Punch-backs!" He said as he punched the clone's face, but he took another hit from real Naruto. "Hey! That's not fair!"

Emilia watched them playing with each other so childish. Then, she started to laugh at them and three guys stared at her. "Oh, gosh… Sorry, I can't! What are you two doing?! I'm dying…" She laughed.

Hearing her laugh, it was pretty cute from Naruto's thought.

"Thanks for your training, Master Puck!" Naruto and the clone said together with a bow.

"You have completed my training. I'm proud of you, my students!" Puck said with a deep voice.

"Please stop. You're both too funny…" Emilia stopped laughing as she turned to look at the clone before the clone dismissed himself into white poof and disappeared. "What?"

"Oh… so your clone can die itself or dismiss itself." Puck said.

"That's correct, Puck-ttebayo." He said.

"Naruto, why do you always say that word?" Emilia wondered.

"It's a catchphrase. It's my favorite word. Well actually, my mother always said that word.'' Naruto said with a smile. He remembered finding out that a red-haired woman is his mother by hearing that catchphrase.

Seeing his face with emotion, Emilia started to get worried as she touched his shoulder. "Naruto, are you okay?" She asked before she saw the tears from his eyes. Did something happen to him? Maybe it was about his mother.

"I'm okay. Just had very emotional memories." He said as he wiped his tears. He'll never forget those words from his mother. Same goes from his father. He never had a chance to see them when he was a baby because they died to protect his life.

But, it's okay because he already knows what they look like. He already met them in person. Honestly, he wanted to wish them to come back and spend more time with his family.

"Hey, Naruto. I'm sorry for asking that question… I didn't know that." Emilia apologized.

"It's ok, Emilia. You didn't know that and this isn't your fault." The blond man smiled.

Emilia looked at his eyes again. They were so filled with emotion, pain, respect, and hurt. Those eyes are almost like hers. Why did she get hurt from him? What kind of his past had he been through?

"Emila?" Naruto wondered.

"Are you-" Emilia paused as she heard two voices and turned around to them. It was Rem and Ram. "Oh? What brings you here?"

"Emilia-sama."

"Our lord, Roswaal-sama, has returned."

"Please come inside."

* * *

Naruto and Emilia have entered the dining room. So, an owner of the mansion named Roswaal should be here in any minutes.

"I was watching you from upstairs, Naruto." Beatrice said as she stood next to him.

"Oh, Beatrice. Yes, I noticed you were watching us from the house." Naruto said.

"You have a good sensor. No wonder why you called yourself a shinobi-kashira." She said

"You bet." Naruto smirked as he looked down at her right hand with a bandage. "How was your hand?"

"Much better-kashira." She said.

Emilia looked at Beatrice's hand, too, when she heard Naruto ask. "What's going on? Why is her hand bandaged?" She asked.

"I-" Naruto interrupted by the door opens as he stepped back away from it until he saw a guy with clown make-up.

He's a tall, well-built man with long indigo hair with heterochromic eyes, the right one being blue and the left one being yellow. He wore unusual outfits comparable to those similar to a clown. He also wore a tiny black hat, black boots and a cape.

"My, my! How unusual to see you here, Beatrice…" He spoke as he looked at her playing with Puck which made Naruto surprised. "I'm so happy you've decided to dine with me."

"That boy is more than enough of an addle-brained fool for me-kashira." She said

"You must be Roswaal. I'm impressed that you're the owner of this mansion." Naruto said as he looked at the clown guy. So…this clown guy owned this mansion.

However, he wasn't just a clown guy because he sensed his strong aura. He used magic like Emilia. There was something strange about him because Naruto felt negative emotions from Roswaal.

"Indeed I am." Roswaal said with a smile. "You must be Naruto Uzumaki."

"That's me!" He said, but he just had a question about him... Why does his voice sound like he's singing?!

"Please have a seat. Rem and Ram will cook the lunch for us."

Everyone took a seat at the table. Roswaal sat on the lord chair and the others sat on the opposite side. Naruto and Emilia sat next to each other while they're talking to each other. The other side where Beatrice sat at is playing with Puck.

Rem and Ram are back from the kitchen with food on the food cart. They passed the food for everyone. After that, they stood between Roswaal like they're guarding him.

Emilia was taking a bite of the food, but she forgot something before eating that. She looked at Naruto who already noticed her. Both of them nodded and began to pray for food to thank.

"Itadakimasu!" They said at the same time as the others looked at them strangely.

"H-How was it? Did I do great?" Emilia asked.

"You did great, Emilia. I'm surprised we did it at the same time, so that was a good one." Naruto said with a smile.

"Really?" She surprised.

"Yeah, really." He smiled.

Then, both of them are smiling at each other. Puck was surprised that Emilia learned a new word and prayed food from Naruto. He's the one who told him to teach her a few things from him.

Naruto had never tasted this food in his world. He always eats his favorite food is ramen and loves eating at the restaurant. Guessed he had to try something different from here, so he took a spoon and dipped in the soup. He took a taste of the soup in his mouth and swallowed it.

This soup is pretty good and he took another one. He actually enjoyed that soup rather than normal food.

"This is pretty good. Who cooks it?" He asked.

"I cooked it, Naruto-kun." Rem answered.

"Rem, this food is actually good. Seriously, you're gonna make one hell of a wife-ttabayo." Naruto smiled, but he noticed everyone was staring at him. "What do I say?"

"Do you realize what you say?" Ram asked.

"Yes, so?"

"Thank you for your words, Naruto-kun." Rem accepted without showing any emotion. One hell of a wife… sounds ridiculous.

"You're very kind, Naruto." Roswaal said as he put the tea cup down on the table. "You come to the mansion of Margrave Mathers, in the kingdom of Lugunica. I heard from Emilia-sama that you saved her life from the assassin, right?"

"Yes, that's correct. Her name is Elsa Granhiert. She's a vampire who tried to assassinate Emilia."

"Then, let me ask you this question, Naruto. How did you know that the assassin is coming for her life?" Roswaal asked with a smile.

"I'm a shinobi and I have an ability to sense aura. While I was helping Emilia's insignia, I found the scent of bloodlust and evil." Naruto said with a serious face as he looked at him. This clown guy…seemed off and suddenly jumped into that question.

This guy knows about the assassin named Elsa Granhiert. That kind of look on his face made Naruto not trusting him.

"Also, she's known as Bowel Hunter and former member of Assassin Organization. I'm sure you heard that before. Your fighting skills are quite similar hers, but much better than hers. You killed her." Roswaal chuckled.

Naruto looked at him very seriously. "Are you saying I'm one of them?"

"I didn't ask that of you. I was thinking maybe you used to be one of them, but you betrayed them. Came at Lugunica and saved Emilia's life from Elsa because you knew she was coming for her life. No knights can kill her unless high-skilled like Reinhard. But, you killed Elsa on your own."

"I killed Elsa because she tried to kill Emilia. I have no choice, but to kill her or else she wouldn't have kill Emilia." Naruto said.

"Then, tell me this. What are you, Naruto? No single human can fight off the vampire."

Naruto opened his mouth to speak, but he saw Emilia standing up from the seat and shielded him from Roswaal.

"Naruto is not like that." She said. "I met him at the market. He helped me to find my insignia."

Then, Puck came up and flew towards Naruto to protect him, too. "Lia is right. He protected her from the vampire. If he hadn't been there with Emilia, she wouldn't have died there."

Naruto was shocked that those two are defending him from getting accused by Roswaal. Sure he can make a comeback to that man because he did with Nagato and Obito. However, when he got supported by them, he was glad that they could trust him.

"I see that Emilia-sama is defending you." Roswaal chuckled lightly as he drank the tea. "I guess you are indeed someone that can be trusted. Forgive me for accusing like that."

"I forgive you, Roswaal." Naruto said as he looked at Emilia and Puck. He gave them a smile.

"You may have any reward you request. Merely state your desire!"

Reward his request? So, that means he can make any request he wants, but he felt like Roswaal is testing him. It's almost like he's watching him and wanting to know what kind of person he is. That clown wants to know his secret. He can leave the mansion, but he doesn't have any place to stay. Guess he had no choice, but staying will be his best option if that can make him go back to his world.

Before Naruto's choosing that option, Kurama and the other 8 Bijuus warned him about Roswaal. He's pretty strong, but he's no match against him. " …I want to stay here for free." He answered.

Roswaal smiled as he clapped his hands. "Very good! Very good! From now on, you will be treated as a guest in this place!"


	3. Chapter 3

In the hallway, Beatrice watched Naruto training in the yard with her irritated look. She looked at her hand with bandage that got hurt and treatment by him. He did it both of them, but it was accident. It's very nice of him.

His mana is very hot and burned her hand like hell. Hot as a fire enough to burn. Beatrice thought it's impossible because no human with mana can hurt her. But rarely, she got hurt by Naruto's mana.

"What do you think of him?"

The blonde turned around to see Puck who called her. The spirit cat is smiled and already has an interesting in Naruto.

"Bubby, that boy. What is he?" Beatrice called Puck's nickname. "Where did you find him?"

"We found him in the market. He helped Lia to find her insignia and protected her from the vampire. He doesn't seem to be demi-human because I checked on him. He's a human, but not just the human." He said as he looked at Beatrice's bandaged hand. "How is this possible? No human's mana should hurt you."

"When I absorbed his mana, it burned my hand and didn't want me to absorb it." Beatrice remembered she got burned by Naruto's mana. "His mana bothered me."

"What do you mean?" Puck asked.

"Maybe I took someone else mana not him. Something deep inside of him. It was dark, evil, and scary. I wouldn't like to keep on going." She said. Well technically, it was her fault for absorbing him without warns him. "I think he didn't mean to hurt me-kashira. If he warned me before I absorb his mana, I wouldn't have been hurt."

Puck nodded and understood why she's saying. When she said that there was mana deep inside of him, he got chilled his spine. He checked on him already and he's clearly human, but something else inside of him what Beatrice. Talking about Naruto's mana, there was a chance that he will surpass Roswaal or him in his true form. No jokes. If Roswaal tried to fight him, pretty sure he'll lose by him.

If he were him, he would not mess with him. Honestly, it'll be better for Lia to be with Naruto than Roswaal.

"I can sense the Witch miasma around him, but I don't think he's one of them."

"Me too, I sensed him, too." Puck said as he looked at Beatrice's injury right hand. "How was your hand? Still hurt?"

"My hand is better now-kashira." She said as she unwrapped the bandage from her right hand. "Buddy, Naruto didn't mean to hurt my hand. I guess it was accident-kashira."

"You didn't tell Roswaal?" Puck asked.

"Of course not I didn't tell him." Beatrice said as she continued to look at Naruto. "Are you sure he's not one of the witches?"

"I checked on him. He's good." Puck said as he looked through the window and saw Lia ran towards Naruto. They were just talking and laughing. "Lia seems to be enjoying with him. She had no complaint about him."

Watching them, Emilia is enjoying with Naruto. She showed her smile and laugh. It was nice to see her happy. The half-elf doesn't have much experience with people, so she doesn't have friends. Finally, she made a friend with Naruto. He was warmth, nice, and strong person. Puck guessed that Naruto is indeed someone that can be trusted because it was Emilia.

It was very nice that Naruto became a friend with Emilia because he's not like the other humans who hated her. He can make her smile and laugh.

"Emilia trusted him a lot." Beatrice said.

"Yes, she trusted him because he saved her life." Puck said as he looked at Beatrice. "Beatrice, this boy doesn't use any magic like us."

"I know. Do you remember what kind of magic he used?"

"It's not really a magic because Lia told me about his magic. He used clones and strange blue energy ball that killed Elsa. And also, he blew up entire bars."

So, Beatrice was correct about the new blond boy. He does have something in inside of him. That wasn't the mana… It was something else and unfamiliar to her.

What is he? Where did he come from?

* * *

"What?! Your mana hurt Beatrice!" Emilia shocked after Naruto told her about what happened to Beatrice's hand. That explained why she had a bandage.

"I know! I know! I apologized to her already! I'm very sorry for hurting her. I didn't mean to hurt her." Naruto said with a bow. So, mana is like chakra that uses magic. It'll be better to use that word to cover him from them.

Beatrice was good at mana transfer, but she hurt herself without asking him. It's because Kurama's chakra can hurt anyone who dares to try to absorb. Luckily, the little girl forgave him for hurting her because she didn't ask him and called it an accident. Wouldn't have been very bad if he revealed who he really was.

Naruto looked at the window and saw Beatrice in the mansion with Puck. Her face is angry, so he delivered a waving hand to her. Then, Beatrice gave him a scowling look as she turned away and went back to the library.

**"She likes you." Son said**

_"She's too young."_ Naruto thought as he turned to look at Emilia that looked at him curiously. "What's up?"

"I forgive you, Naruto." She said with a smile.

The blond ninja smiled back at her. Of course, Emilia is a sweet girl. She trusted him too much and treated him like a friend. Gotta has given her credits for supporting him from getting accused by Roswaal.

"Emilia, thank you for supporting me."

"You're welcome. You saved my life from the vampire, so I owned you. I'm sorry about Roswaal-sama. He was very cautious, but I'm sure he'll trust you."

"Sure." He said. "What do you do today?"

"I talked with lesser spirit."

"Lesser spirit?"

"Lesser spirits are beings that haven't become spirits yet. They grow over time, and when they gain strength and self-awareness, they become full spirits, like Puck."

"Can you show me?" Naruto asked curiously. This sounds kinda cool and never get to see her talking with lesser spirits.

"No, I can't. I have contract conditions. I can only talk with them every morning and evening. I was going to do it at night, so you can watch me how I did."

"Contract conditions?" He thought, but maybe he can save that for later. "So, it's true that you're running a candidate to become the 42nd King of Lugnica."

"Yes, which is why I need my insignia. Thank you for bringing it back." She said.

"What's your goal?"

"My goal is to create a nation where all citizens are equal, but…" She said with a sad look as she held her hands together and Naruto looked at her. "I don't think that's simple because humans don't like me… They hate me because I am a Witch of Frost…"

Naruto's eyes widened in shock and his fists clenched tight, but he stopped and calmed his anger. The same thing happened to his life from the past. It was very painful to remember his past because of fear. The villagers of Konoha feared him, hated him, and attempted to kick him out because he has a Nine-tailed fox inside of him. So, Emilia is like him… Both of them have experienced the same pains and suffer.

Both of them don't have a family at home, so they live by themselves. They took care of themselves without them and learned how to survive. Actually, Naruto heard about Puck that he took care of her.

Emilia doesn't have a lot of friends here before he arrived here. The humans are scared of her because they think she's a witch. They don't like her appearance because she's a half-elf. She must have been very lonely without friends. No wonder why she got surprised that she found the first friend with him.

"I…I'm sorry to hear your story, Emilia." Naruto said softly as the silver-haired girl nodded sadly, but her face changed into a shocked expression when he held her hands. "But, you can't give up your dream just because they fear you."

"Can't give up my dream?" She asked.

"It's okay to be scared of them just because of your looks. However, you can't give up on your dream. You have to fight through pain and hardship if you want to become King. Face your fear and make everyone acknowledged-no… It's not that if you become King everyone will acknowledge you. It's the ones who are acknowledged that can become King." Naruto said. He remembered one speech from Itachi. "Don't forget your friends, Emilia."

Emilia was silent and looked at him with a shocked expression, listening to what he had to say. Fight through pain and hardship. That's right at the end of the sentence. She had a friend named Naruto Uzumaki and he's right here with her.

"My friend told me this. You'll probably have to suffer again from now on… but don't change, keep going your way. You told me that you never change your words… that's your way, can you guess?" Naruto asked.

"You said yes." She guessed.

"That's correct. He said 'You better become King… at all costs.' Those are his last words." He said with a warm smile. "For one-hundred percent to me, I'm sure you'll be the greatest King of Lugnica in the world."

"Naruto."

"Yes-oh my gosh! Are you crying?!" Naruto shocked as he saw Emilie's eyes, started to cry right now. Holy shit! She must have been emotional by his speech and didn't know that could make her cry. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I didn't know that can-"

"Thank you."

Naruto stopped panicking and looked at her when her hands grabbed his hands. She showed her smiled at him with tears on her face. A perfect time when the blossoms flew past her by the wind, creating a lovely picture. He was stunned for a moment.

Her smile… it was so radiant, so warm, so…beautiful.

"Thank you for giving me courage. I…I felt warm in my heart." Emilia said as she wiped her tears. She took his hands and grasped it. "I didn't know you were good at speech."

"I…I practiced it someday." Naruto said as he turned his head down and moved his hands from hers. He scratched his back of the head. His cheeks were colored pink by her beautiful smile. Damn, he didn't know half-elf can make a cute smile.

"Are you okay? Your face is red."

"I'm ok, Emilia! I'm ok!" He laughed a bit with a blush as he waved his hands. "Anyways, should you be studying right now?"

"That's right! I forgot about that!" Emilia said as she stood up and ran towards the mansion, but she stopped for a moment. She turned around to look at him with a beautiful smile. "It was nice to talk with you, Naruto. I'm glad you're my first friend…"

"Huh?" Naruto wondered as he heard her first sentence, but didn't catch the second one. He was going to ask her to repeat it, but she went inside already.

When Emilia went inside the mansion, she felt a warm feeling in her chest as her hands placed on it. She can feel the heartbeat in her heart. This is a nice feeling from his speech. It was nice that her friend Naruto cheered her up because no one never does that to her.

By the way, she checked Naruto's mana when she had a talk with him. He already explained to her that his mana hurt Beatrice. It was an accident, so she forgave him already. She's better watch out of him because his mana could hurt anyone. However, he didn't mean to do that. He didn't do it on purpose.

Naruto's mana though… She didn't find the evil inside of him. There was no way he could be an enemy. When she checked his mana, it was a nice feeling.

His mana is so… Bright and warm.

* * *

"Wow…" Naruto amazed as he sat in the hot tube in the hot spring room. This feeling is so great. He was so happy that this mansion has a hot spring.

**"That guy…" Kurama said**

_"What guy?"_

**"That clown… He seemed to be suspicious of your chakra and our chakra." He said**

Naruto just remembered about that clown guy, Roswaal. That clown…seems to be looking forward to seeing him. Not only seeing him, but seeing his chakra. Hopefully, Beatrice won't tell him about that energy transfer because it was bad and an accident. When he first met Roswaal in the dining room, he felt a negative emotion of him. It's not like he guessed that Roswaal is evil, but he was just being cautious.

It was strange that he acted like a nice and kind person when greeted him. But, the clown guy accused him of working with Assassination Organization. That was such a sudden question from him. The people who live in his mansion seem to trust him a lot. Maybe, they don't know if he's lying to them.

Anyways, Naruto needs to stay on his guard about Roswaal. Who knows what he's planning to do with him?

"Well, there. You used negative emotion on him and he's lying, but there's no way we can prove it unless we can trust the others." Chomei said.

"Emilia and Puck."

"Maybe two maidens and the little brat. They need to know about him." Gyuki said.

"Beatrice is alright, but I'm not too sure about two maidens. They're very loyal to Roswaal. I don't wanna hurt them."

"Hey there! May I join you?"

"Oh, Roswaal! I didn't see-What the fuck!" Naruto shocked as he found a naked guy without the towel that is supposed to cover his waist. He was shocked and his jaw dropped. He cannot believe what he just saw and doesn't wanna talk about it. By the way, Roswaal looks different without clown make-up.

"This facility is part of my mansion, so it is my property… I shall do with it as I please." Roswaal said.

"Yo! Where's your towel-never mind about that. Yes, of course, you can join because this is yours." Naruto said as he turned away from that creep! Damn, men always wear a towel to cover the waist, but this guy doesn't!

"Yes, indeed. This bath is my property, but as part of my guest…" Roswaal said as he bent down on his knee and held Naruto's chin. "are you not my property, as well?

Naruto's eyes twitched as he moved away from him in an instant and created a space between them. "D-Don't' do weird shit like that, you freak-ttabayo! I-I finally got into the bath and your creepy-stuff threw me off!" He said nervously as he had a flashback about himself and Kakashi sensei, training together. He said some weird shits to him.

"I don't know what's bothering you, but it seems like you had a bad memory." Roswaal said

"I gotta say… I'm really starting to like you."

HELL NO! OH HELL NO!

"Yes…" Naruto said sadly as he looked down and remembered those words from his Kakashi Sensei.

"Speaking of which, you and Emilia are getting along with each other, am I right?" He asked.

"Yes, we are."

"I see. Do you think you'll be able to get along with Ram and Rem?"

"Ram and Rem?" Naruto remembered the two maidens. "I haven't talked with them. I met them when I first came here… Actually, are they the only ones living here?"

"Yes, that's correct." Roswaal said. "Don't worry about them. They have been working here for a long time. Judging them how they look, but they aren't just maidens."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, since you can sense the mana or aura, I'm sure that you sensed them already."

"Yes, I did, but they're not just maidens. Their aura is strong, am I correct?"

"I'm impressed that you guessed it, but yes. They're not just maidens. Their races are Oni." Roswaal said.

"Oni?" Naruto asked. He was sure that he heard that word Oni before. Oni is a kind of yōkai, ogre, or troll in Japanese folklore. It was a legend, but he didn't know that Oni exists here.

"Yes, the Oni is one of the strongest races of Demi-humans known for their strong bodies and mana quality. You look very surprised."

"I am. I…I didn't know the Oni existed here. I thought it was a legend." He said.

Wow, no wonder why the two maidens have a strong aura. Naruto didn't know the Oni race exists here in this fantasy world. So, Rem's and Ram's race is Oni. One strongest race of Demi-humans.

"You're not wrong, but it's not a legend. It exists. I found them from a long time ago after their village got attacked by Witch Cult. If you don't know what it was, Witch Cult is an organization that worships the Witch of Envy, Satella. They're the main threat to the knights because the cults have been killing innocent people." Roswaal said.

"Satella?" Naruto thought, knowing that name before. This sounds familiar…wait a minute… that's Emilia's fake name. She used that name to cover for her name, but why does she put that for her fake name?

He had a strange feeling why did she put that name. He could be wrong about her because he was thinking that Emilia used to be Satella before, but no he was wrong. Already checked on her emotion with negation emotion, so she's not Satella. Her real name is Emilia. The main enemy of the organization is the Witch Cult.

So, that's why he's here because there was a threat.

Naruto is better ready for them because it's his job to save the world and his friends. After the conversation was done, Naruto got up first before Roswaal as he walked inside the changing room. But, he saw Ram standing by the door with a towel and underwear in her arms.

"WOAH! WOAH! What are you doing here, Ram?!" The blond asked, but lucky he had a white towel around his waist.

"I was only waiting to help Roswaal-sama put on fresh clothes." She said.

"Seriously?" He asked with a blush as he turned away from her to grab his clothes. But, he didn't see his clothes there. All of his clothes are gone and even his headband is gone, too. It was just a black suit.

"Oh. Rem took your clothes to wash them while you were in the bath. She put new clothes for you." Ram said.

"Oh…I guess I'll have to wear it now." Naruto said as he grabbed the black suit and walked, but he saw…underwear with yellow and black in left and right. "Can he just dress himself?"

"I will not condone disrespect toward Roswaal-sama. Next time, I will use force." She glared.

"Wh-What?! I didn't say bad things about him." He said.

* * *

"This isn't bad at all." Naruto said as he observed the new clothes that Rem brought him. It was a black butler suit. The size fits him very well.

So, he walked in the hallway while watching outside from the window. It's still sunny outside. He has so much time to spend here and explore the mansion. Emilia is probably studying for King of Lugnica, so he didn't want to bother her.

Naruto stopped by the window and found Rem washing his clothes in the soap bucket. In that case, he wants to meet her and talk with her since he has a lot of time. He opened the window and jumped out of the 2nd floor. When the shinobi landed on the ground, his landing surprised the blue-haired maid as she looked at him.

"Naruto-kun?" She wondered how he got here so fast. She saw the window is opened from the 2nd floor, so he must have jumped from up there. That human isn't normal.

"Yo, Rem!" He greeted with a salute as he looked at his clothes in the soap bucket. He wouldn't mind if a maid takes his clothes and washed them for him because they need to be a wash. But, he wanted to do it by himself. "Rem, thank you for washing my clothes. You don't have to do that for me."

"It's my job." Rem said as she finished washing Naruto's shirt and put it on the stand to dry it. She's going for another one until she sees Naruto is washing the clothes. "What are you doing?"

"I'm helping you." He answered as he washed his jacket and put it on the same stand where his shirt was. There were a lot of clothes and blankets on the baskets.

"I appreciate your help, but washing the clothes on my own is my job-"

"Just shut up and let me help you with this." He interrupted her boldly without hesitation as Rem froze when he said those words to her.

The blue-haired maiden didn't get to finish her sentence because he interrupted her. It was rude when someone interrupted her while speaking, but somehow… somehow it was her first time to get silent by him and didn't even talk to him back. Only him. A human. She usually doesn't listen to someone when a person tries to help her and silent her. In that case, Rem let him do the job for her.

She looked at him washing the clothes and blanket. He's doing a good job for this. It wasn't his first time to wash them. Roswaal-sama ordered her to keep an eye on him because she and her sister Ram explained to him about Beatrice's hand. However, to Beatrice, she told her and Ram that it was just an accident.

This new guest isn't human, but he looks human. He doesn't seem to be harmful. Sensing his mana, it was pretty strong. However, it was bright and warm.

"Something wrong, Rem?" Naruto asked.

"It's nothing, Naruto-kun." She said as she continued to do her job. "Naruto-kun, why do you want to help me?"

"I want to help it because I cannot stand and watch a person who is doing a lot of work." Naruto said. "I understand why only two of you."

"I see… Why do you want to help me? I understand, but my sister and I have stayed with Roswaal for a long time. There was no need for you to be worried." Rem said as she put the blanket on the stand and grabbed other clothes. She felt something when her fingers touched something metal.

Rem was wondering why there was metal in the soap, but she's going to find out. She grabbed the metal and pulled out from the soap bucket. She blinked her eyes when she found a headband with the metal protector on the forehead which explains why she felt. Maybe she grabbed it, too along with Naruto's clothes.

"Hey, you found my headband!" Naruto said in disbelief. "No wonder I couldn't find it."

"This is yours?"

"Yeah, that's mine. It's my headband. I can't believe you found it!"

"I must have grabbed all of your clothes and I didn't realize it was with them." She said as she started to bow. "I deeply apologize."

"Oh no! That's not a problem!" Naruto said. "Besides, I haven't washed my headband. I think it'll be the best that needs to be a wash."

"I see, Naruto-kun." Rem said as she put the headband on the stand, but she saw the curving symbol on the metal. "Naruto-kun."

"Yes."

"What's this symbol?" She asked curiously.

Naruto stopped washing and walked towards Rem where she's asking about. She looked at the headband and got her curious about the symbol. "Oh. That symbol stands for the leaf." He said.

"Leaf?" Rem asked.

"Yes, it was representing my village. It mainly meant that two clans had a friendship. So, it was indicated to be the symbol of friendship."

"Friendship?"

"Yep!" He said with a smile as he looked at his headband. "It was gifted by my good teacher. I used to be a bad student and made a lot of mistakes, but I fixed my mistakes. My teacher comforted me, so I saved his life from a bad guy."

His smile…was so bright and warm. He's not faking and lying. It was hard for Rem to believe his story, but this sounds like a true story.

"It was a sweet story, Naruto." Rem said. "I saw that you and Emilia-sama are quite close."

"She's just a great friend to me. I met her yesterday, so I wouldn't say that we're not close."

"Emilia-sama supported you from getting accused by Roswaal-sama. She seemed to trust you a lot."

It wasn't like Naruto wanted her to trust him and let him stay in the mansion. For sure, he's not going to do any suspicious move. Still, she had to keep her eyes on him.

"Well… That… I was going to make another comeback, but I didn't expect she and Puck supported me." Naruto said as he looked at Rem. That girl seemed to be very loyal to Roswaal, but something wasn't right about her. He had a strange presence from her.

Those eyes of hers are emotionless, but deep inside of her… It was sad. What's this feeling? This kind of feeling from her…

"Rem, are you upset?" He asked without hesitation as the blue-haired girl stopped and looked at him.

"What did you say?" Rem asked.

"You look upset. I don't know why, but for some reason, I'm picking up an upset presence from you. Even though you're emotionless."

Rem blinked her eyes for a moment while staring at Naruto. That hit her right in the heart because of him for saying that. Upset? H-How did he know that she was upset?

At that moment, she started to silent herself. She had a bad memory of her past. That was a sad memory. It was a very sad memory because what she couldn't have done to protect her Ram from them. Her sister protected her from them, but Rem almost let her sister die. So, why is she so upset about this? Why did Naruto ask her that question?

"Rem?" Naruto asked as Rem finally snapped herself and looked at him.

"It's nothing." Rem said as she finished washing clothes. "Thank you for helping me. I didn't know you were good at washing clothes."

"That was a long time ago." Naruto smiled a bit. He washed the clothes by himself when he was a 7. "If you need my help, just let me know and I will help you with anything. If not, I'll just have to help you-ttabayo."

Rem was silent, but she nodded as a yes and walked back to the mansion. She stopped and looked at him for a moment. Was she wrong about him?

…

Then, she went inside the mansion and left him outside.

* * *

"It's time to talk with lesser spirits!" Emilia said with a smile as she walked in the hallway after she finished her study. Right now, she's on her way to talk with lesser spirits tonight, but she forgot something before going outside." Oh yeah!"

She went to another hallway and found the door as she grabbed on the knob to open it, but the door was locked. The half-elf knocked on the door and someone answered her.

"Emilia, is that you?" Naruto asked from the door.

"Yes, that's me. You said you want to see me talking with lesser spirit." She said.

"Give me a second." He said.

Emilia waited for him to come out of his room. Well, it was his first day to live in the mansion and met everyone. The dining room didn't go too well, but it turned out pretty okay. She doesn't know why Roswaal accused Naruto of working with the Assassin Organization.

She heard the door was opened and made her see Naruto, but she saw him differently. He's not wearing a black-orange and pants. He wore a black t-shirt and orange shorts. There was no headband on him. Her words died in her throat as she looked over his body. He was well-built, but not too muscular. Not too skinny. A good body-shape and he's just only a teenager.

"Emilia?" Naruto asked.

The half-elf turned red on her cheeks as she looked away from him. "I-I'm sorry! Y-You can come outside and watch me how I did." She said as she turned away and walked towards the outside while Naruto followed her.

They're at the yard in the night. Naruto stood where he was and waited for Emilia to do talking with lesser spirits. She already started by speaking quietly in a different language. Then, the blond boy saw her body glow with blue color and blue orbs appeared from nowhere. They're surrounding her. Naruto watched her in amazement and didn't know what to say about lesser spirits.

This is beautiful to watch her talking with lesser spirits. One of the beautiful moments in his life. His summoning jutsu doesn't look like that, but he wished he could do that.

"What do you think, Naruto?" Emilia asked.

"It was beautiful." He admitted with a smile. "I've never seen an elf's magic like that. Elf's magic is interesting-ttabayo."

"Really? Thank you." She surprised as she finished talking with lesser spirits and walked toward him. This human likes her magic. "What about your magic? What's your?"

Naruto sat down on the grass and tapped his side to tell Emilia to sit with him. So, he saw the silver-haired sat with him. "Well, I'm a shinobi. I can create clones and use blue energy orb, Rasengan. You saw what I did to Elsa, remember?"

"Yes, yes. I remembered that." Emilia said

"Yeah, pretty much I don't have a lot of magic moves. Clones and Rasengan are my magic moves."

"I see. Not only you have magic, but you are pretty good at fighting."

"Want me to teach you?"

"Really?" Emilia surprised. Nobody ever asks her like that and offers her to train with him. "Can you do that?"

"Yeah, I don't mind training with someone." He said. "I can teach you some basic move."

"Then, that's a yes!"

Naruto smiled when he looked at Emilia's determination. "Alright then. If you have a chance to take a day off, I will teach you some of my moves."

"I will! And…are you the only shinobi in here?" She asked.

"In my village, yes, but I never met the other shinobi." He said. That's a good question from her. He was curious if there was a shinobi in this world.

Emilia nodded and was pretty sure he's not only shinobi in this world. There were more of them who could do the same move like him. "Naruto, can I touch your hand? Just for curiosity."

"Sure, I don't mind." Naruto said without hesitation as he saw her hands grab his hand. Her hands are very smooth and soft because of her skin.

"Your fingers. They're very pretty." She said as she turned his hand to the opened-palm and trace on it. This feeling is warm and soft. It was rare how warm it was. No human doesn't have that kind of hands like his.

Then, she found other feelings from his hand. It's not just warm and soft, but there was something else about him. His hand was filled with love, friends, and strength. Guessing him, he had been through the battle before with a strong feeling. The other word friend seems like he has great friends in his village. The last word love… almost like Naruto has been loved before. Yes, he has been loved by friends, but he has mostly been loved by his family.

His hand was filled with love because he loved his family. It's almost like they loved their son so much, but sadly she found out that they died. She saw Naruto's facial expression before and realized his parents are already dead. However, she can feel the love from him. He still has that feeling from them. Naruto really loves his parents.

He never forgets them and their feelings. He carried them with him and placed their feelings in his heart, so he'll never forget them. It…It was a really beautiful feeling from Naruto.

"Emilia?" Naruto wondered.

"It's nothing." The half-elf said as she shook her head and let go of his hand. "You…You really are a great person with the heart. Do you have friends in your homeland?"

"Lots of them. They're really good people." Naruto remembered. Maybe, Emilia was wondered if he has good friends at his homeland. If he completed his quest, he'll take her to his homeland and meet his friends.

They're very good people and would like to meet Emilia. It'll be really nice that she can come to his world. Pretty sure, his sensei would accept her to stay in his homeland.

Naruto was pissed at people for being scared of Emilia and told the kids to stay away from her because she's the Witch of Frost. She didn't do anything wrong. He would punch everyone in their face or prank them if they insult her.

"That's good." Emilia said with a small smile. It's nice for Naruto that he has a lot of friends in his homeland. They must be really good friends. She wished she had a lot of friends like him.

"Emilia, you know I'm still here and your friend." He noticed her facial expression as the silver-haired looked at him.

"I know-" She gasped as Naruto grabbed her hands and made her eyes look at him. His azure eyes. His face. They're all looking too good. She can't help describing him, but he looks so different with that face.

"If you're bored or feel lonely in your room, no need to be afraid of talking with me. I'm all opened and eared for you, Emilia." He said with a smile.

"Naruto…" She said as she smiled at him. "Thank you."


	4. Chapter 4

_"You look upset. I don't know why, but for some reason, I'm picking up an upset presence from you. Even though you're emotionless."_

Rem had a flashback about yesterday talking with a new guest, Naruto. She's on her way to his room to wake him up because she wants his help for today. When Naruto told her that she's upset, it got her right in the heart. Truthfully, she was surprised by him. His eyes… They are serious and almost can read her mind. They were filled with emotions.

It's hard to tell that he was lying to her with his emotions, but she felt his emotions are real. Naruto was being an honest person.

The blue-haired maiden made a thought of Naruto that he's a spy because he has the witch smell. That's right, she smelled his scent and he smelled like a witch. She saw what happened from yesterday where Naruto's mana hurt Beatrice's hand. She transferred his mana to hers, but she got forced back from his mana. However, Beatrice has already forgiven him for hurting her.

However, it's not what Rem's thinking. She caught another smell from Naruto and it's not a witch smell. It was his smell. It was bright and warm. Maybe, she was wrong about him. Maybe, Naruto wasn't one part of the Witch Cult.

"Naruto-kun." She called as she knocked on the door at his room. There was no answer, but she sensed his aura still in there. "I will come in-"

But, the door was opened itself and Rem found Naruto that just goes out from his room with t-shirt and short. It's too late for her to stop it when she bumped into his chest without knowing he was going to open it himself. She felt her hands on his chest. It wasn't too bulky. Not too skinny. He was a perfect-shape.

"Oh, Rem. I didn't hear your knocking because I just woke up." He said before he released his yawning. "I'm sorry that I didn't hear you."

Rem was frozen, gazing at his body in astonishment. Her hands are still on his chest which she didn't even move them. She looked it up at his face. He looks so much different than before.

"Rem?" Naruto asked.

The maiden snapped as she moved her hands and bowed down to him. "I'm deeply sorry for coming in without calling you."

"No need to say sorry to me. I shouldn't have answered you first." He said before he saw her sister with pink hair. That must be Rem's older sister. Her name is Ram.

"Rem, did you get violated by this man?" Ram asked

"Yes, Ram. I was violated by him." Rem said.

Naruto blinked his eyes for a second and heard what they say. His eyes are widened in shock. "Wait! I didn't do anything to Rem! I swear!" He said panicky as he waved his hands.

"I shall report this to Emilia-sama." Ram said.

"I wasn't seducing her!" He said with a sweat. Damn, he didn't know that Ram is so protective sister and he didn't do anything to Rem. "Look! I opened my door and saw Rem right here. I didn't know she was going to opened it."

Ram gave him a dirty look for few seconds and her face changed into a normal expression. "Forgive me and my sister jumping into the conclusion." She said as she and Rem bowed him at the same time.

Naruto twitched one of his eyes and started not to believe them. He got accused by two maidens for seducing Rem without even a reason, but they suddenly change and apologized to him. Damn Jiraiya! Damn him for giving him a stupid pervert and accused by them. For sure, he's laughing at him from up the heaven.

"Anyways, why are you here, Rem? You're the one who came to my room." He said.

"I came here to wake you up, but it seems you're already wake on your own."

"Anything else?"

"I was wondering if you can help us to cook for breakfast."

The blond shinobi dropped his at this because he can't cook the foods… He can't cook the regular foods. He can only cook ramen cup which it's the only one he can cook. So, just a ramen cup or head toward Ichiraku Ramen restaurant.

"Something wrong, Naruto-kun?" Rem asked.

"I love to help, but…I…I can't cook." He confessed sadly as his face is colored with the red. This is so embarrassing to tell them that he cannot cook.

…

…

…

"I'm disappointed." Ram said.

Then, her insult hurt his feeling as he looked it down at the ground with a shadow to cover his face. He knew Ram would call him a suck cooker. He's a shinobi and ramen lover, but suck at cooking.

* * *

"I'm impressed that you're good at cutting things with a knife." Ram said as she watched Naruto peeling the apple skin with a kitchen knife. She changed her mind about him and he doesn't suck at peeling.

"I cut apple and the other fruits. They're pretty easy to peer." He said as he put the apple on the bowl filled with apples.

Rem watched him peeling off apple skin and his knife skill. She looked at the pile of the apples on a bowl. They're clean and circle. His knife skill bothers her because he used kunai skills to peel off the skin which Emilia told her about it. Very impressive from him.

"Ram is right. You're good at peeling the fruit." She said.

"I'm good, but not very good at cooking." Naruto said as he finished the last apple and looked at Rem. "Is there any else I can help with?"

"Yes…" Rem said as she started to stare at Naruto's hair that bugs her

Naruto noticed Rem is staring at him, but he doesn't know why. The bowl is filled with apples and the skins are peeled off. He was sure that he didn't miss left the skins. "Rem, why are you looking at me?" He asked.

Ram stopped what she is doing and looked at her sister that staring at Naruto. She saw her eyes are seemed to look at… his hair. "Your unsightly appearance stands out. Especially your hair. It's very unrefined." She said.

"Really? I never have a problem about my hair. I always wash my face and my hair when I wake up. Anyone didn't complain about my hair." He said as he brushed his hair.

"And Rem." She called her as the blue-haired girl looked at her. "You are staring at Naruto because you are bothered by his hair, right?"

Rem got surprised by her sister, but she cannot hide it anymore. "Yes, it is…" She said.

"Really?" Naruto shocked as he looked at Rem. "Do I? Was it serious?"

"No, not really… I'm just slightly, quite slightly…extremely slightly concerned about the hair." She concerned.

"She's extremely concerned!" Naruto thought in shocked as his eye is twitched. Seriously! She's extremely concerned about his hair!

"You may accept her help if you insist…since Rem's touch will send you to heaven." Ram smirked.

"Wait, what?" He asked as he looked at Rem. Is the pink-haired girl serious?

When Rem touches his hair with her hands, they will send him to heaven. Well damn, she must be really pro at combing the hair because Naruto can tell that Rem combs her sister's hair before. He can't help it, but he'll have to accept her offer to comb his hair since it bothered her.

"By the way, I'm not very good at anything, but I mostly clean with my sister and help her. Rem is the only one who can cook in this mansion. I'm not very good at cooking." Ram said

"Then, why the hell did you say disappointed to me?! Girl, your insults hurt my feeling!" Naruto scowled. Wow, he can't believe he got insult by the pink-haired girl. Kurama and 8 Bijuus were laughing at him for being suck at cooking.

Damn that pink maiden! She played a game with him! To the blue-haired maiden, Rem is the only one who can clean and cook better than her. Honestly, Naruto kinda felt bad for her and wanted to help her.

"Hey, how's Beatrice?" Naruto wondered. He remembered Kurama's chakra hurt her hand without realizing he was inside of him.

"Beatrice-sama is fine. Her hand is healed." Rem said as she looked at him. "Are you planning to visit her?"

"Yes, I am. I want her to collect my mana… Does she always do that to everyone?" He asked.

"Yes, Beatrice-sama is very cautious. She wants to make sure if you're an enemy or not."

"I see." Naruto nodded. "After this, I'm going to Beatrice's room. If Emilia is looking for me, just tell her I'm at Beatrice's room."

"As your wish, Naruto-kun and be sure not to hurt her again." Rem said.

"Your mana hurt her hand." Ram said.

"That won't happened again, girls. I promise I won't hurt her."

* * *

"This gotta be it." Naruto said as he stood in right front of the where Beatrice's room was. He learned that she can use some kind of teleport magic which can correct the door of her room to any door she wishes to.

Hopefully, this is the right room because he guessed it. When he opened the door, he found the library room. Naruto looked it down in the center and saw Beatrice, reading her book. Her face showed an angry expression to him.

"How did you get in?" She surprised.

"Hello there, Beatrice." Naruto greeted her. "Honestly, I don't know. I took a guess."

"Then, why are you here-kashira?"

Naruto smiled with scratching on the back of his head as he closed the door and walked in her room. "You see… Again. I wanted to say I am deeply sorry for hurting your hand from yesterday. The reason how you got hurt because my mana can fight it back or self-defense. If you need mana, you can take mine. But, you need to ask me before doing that."

Then, Beatrice closed the book and her eyes are focused on him. He's here because he wants her to take his mana from him. Something strange about this boy. However, perhaps she can try again to see why his mana hurt her.

"Very well-kashira." She said as she put the book away and walked toward Naruto. She placed her hand on his stomach and began to transfer his mana to hers.

This boy has a lot of mana and it didn't hurt her that caught her surprised. She doesn't know why she can't find the one mana that hurt her. She was so sure that she found it from yesterday. Deep inside of him, it was dark and evil. More like a monster. The blond boy isn't a human, but somehow he is. He has something like hidden power inside of him.

But still, she doesn't know why she can't find it. Maybe, it was because Naruto used his own mana, so she doesn't get hurt from him. The first mana she took just now is bright and warm.

This feeling is kinda nice…

"There. I'm done for transferring your mana to mine." Beatrice finished as she stopped transfer mana by moving her hand away from Naruto. "You have a lot."

"Really?" Naruto asked, blinking in slight surprise. "You are pretty good at mana-transferring. Can anyone do that?"

"That's an absolutely terrible way to put it-kashira. In this mansion, only Bubby and I can." She said. "But…how come I can't find your other mana? The one that hurt my hand."

Naruto was too nervous to tell her and didn't know she still remembers that. For sure, she didn't tell Roswaal about yesterday. "Why do you want to know that?" He asked.

"Don't play a game with me. You know what I'm talking about. Today, your mana didn't hurt me. Yesterday, your mana hurt my hand." She said as she crossed her arms and glared at him. "There was something deep inside of you that I never encountered before. Your other mana is unfamiliar to me."

The blond shinobi clenched his fists and really doesn't want to tell her. She mustn't know about his chakra that he has Bijuus inside of him. He can't lie to her because she isn't stupid. Can he trust her for telling her about his secret?

**"Go ahead and tell her." Kurama said**

_"What?!"_ Naruto shocked as he turned to the giant fox. _"Kurama, we can't tell her about our secret."_

**"You can't make lies to her or else she'll kill you for this. Besides, it was my fault for giving her my chakra."**

_"You can't be serious. What about you guys?"_ He asked the other Bijuus before they agreed with Kurama. Damn, they really agreed with Kurama and want him to tell her. That's too early for telling Beatrice.

**"However, this brat doesn't have a good relationship with a gay clown. I think she won't tell him about us." Kurama said.**

Naruto remembered he felt her negative emotion toward Roswaal. He doesn't like to tell her about his secret and Bijuus because he protects them from greedy humans. Those stupid humans want to use them as a weapon. But, it seemed like he's out of his idea to create a lie to her.

He sighed in defeated as he started to sit on the chair and looked at Beatrice. Surprisingly, she understood him and sat on another chair. "If I tell you this, promise me you won't tell anyone."

"Why would I tell anyone? Of course not, I won't tell them-kashira." Beatrice said.

"Alright then… The other mana you took that hurt you isn't mine, but that's not mana. It called chakra." Naruto started. "It belonged to my friend, but he's not human. He was called a Bijuu, but there were nine of him."

"Chakra? Bijuu? How come I never heard about those creatures before?" She wondered.

"Because they don't exist here in your world, Beatrice." He answered. "Actually, they're inside of me. Nine Bijuus are inside of me."

"Nine of them?! They're inside of you." She shocked. She didn't expect that one from him.

"Yes, nine of them. Each Bijuus have the number of tails they have from one to nine. They were created by their creator." Naruto said as he skipped Hagoromo's name and ten-tailed creature. "You might have think of them are monsters, but they're living creatures. They have nothing to do with humans because they used them as a weapon. So, Bijuus chose me because they trusted me to take care of them."

Beatrice looked at her hand that got hurt from Bijuu's chakra yesterday. That explained why she got hurt from Naruto.

"Who's that creature? The one who burned my hand." She said.

"His name is Kurama. He's a nine-tailed fox and the most powerful of the nine-tailed beasts. Also, he's my partner and friend." Naruto said. "The others are also my partners and my friends."

This boy is telling the truth, but he didn't tell her where is he from. However, this is enough for her to hear him. The creatures are called Bijuu. They don't exist here because there were no such things about Bijuus. It was crazy that Naruto has all 9 of them inside of him.

Naruto's mana was very strong and powerful. There could be possible that he can defeat Roswaal with six elements or Puck's true form. Maybe, he can take both of them down by himself.

"So, is chakra the same as mana?" She asked.

"You can say that because both of us use chakra and mana. Well, mine is chakra because only shinobi can use it." Naruto said, skipping another one.

"I see-kashira" Beatrice said.

"By the way, who is Satella?" He asked.

Beatrice looked at him with a serious expression on her face. "In this world, the witch only refers to one person. The Jealous Witch, Satella." She began.

"The Jealous Witch?" He asked.

"Yes, long ago, she devoured the six witches who bore the names of the deadly sins, and drained half the world dry. She's the worst of the worst-kashira. It's said that she was starved for love. It's said that she doesn't understand human language. It's sad that her body never withers, weakens, or dies. It's said that, though she was sealed by the powers of a dragon, a hero, and a sage, they were unable to destroy her flesh."

Naruto felt like the Jealous Witch, Satella sounds like Kaguya Ōtsutsuki. They aren't the same, but sealing Satella is familiar to his sealing jutsu. The Jealous witch was sealed by a dragon, a hero, and a sage. To his version, he and Sasuke sealed Kaguya Otsutusuki by using Six Paths Yin and Yang powers.

"What does she looks like?" Naruto asked.

"It's said that her body is that of a half-elf with silver hair." Beatrice said.

Naruto's face turned into shock expression. A half-elf with silver hair… Her appearance is almost like Emilia because she's a half-elf with silver hair. He knows that Emilia isn't Satella, but Satella's appearance is like hers.

Not only humans hate her because she's Witch of Frost, but they hate her because she looks like Satella. Both of them are half-elf with silver hair. Poor Emilia… She must have been through so much pain.

_"No wonder why…"_ He thought sadly.

"There you go. That's all you need to know about Satella." Beatrice finished, but she noticed Naruto showed his sad face. "Why is your face looks sad?"

"Emilia… It must be very hard for her to move on and been through the hatred of humans. They hate her because she's Witch of Frost and Satella… Having something inside of you or what you look like, your life sucks so bad because you didn't do anything wrong." Naruto said as his one fist is clenched.

Looking at his sad face, it was her first time to see him with emotion. Beatrice understands his feeling about Emilia's life. That's true because her appearance was like Satella's appearance. Humans are scared and hate Satella so much for almost destroying the world. But honestly, Emilia doesn't deserve that kind of the treatment. She has the hate of people, but she's still willing to save them no matter what.

However, Emilia was lucky that she found the right person. The person is Naruto Uzumaki.

"Well, she should be happy that you're here with her and became a friend with her." Beatrice said.

"I know." He said with a smile, remembering Emilia's smile. "It seems like you started to trust me."

"Hmph! I didn't say that I can trust you because you're a stranger and broke in my room without my permission-kashira."

"Come on… Don't be a cold to me. I told you about my secrets, but you still don't like me. Then, you should let me in your room because you can trust me-ttabayo." Naruto said. "I just realized that you have been in your room a whole day. You didn't come outside to see me training."

"I didn't want to come outside to see you because you are annoyed to me."

"What?! How mean of you! I let you transfer my chakra or mana to you, Beatrice. Really…you should go outside to enjoy for fresh air and have fun. You started to make me feel sad. Staying in your room isn't good for you because you are alone." Naruto said as he stood up and looked at her. "I hate to say this to you, but you can't just stay in your room forever. It sounds like you're in the prison or guard over the library for someone."

Beatrice paused for reading a book and looked at the blond man. He chose two words 'alone' and 'guard' to her because she has been here in her room a whole time. Nobody tell her like that. This stranger…knows everything about her.

"By the way, I heard you like to play with Puck…" Naruto said with a blush. He remembered that he saw Beatrice loves to play with Puck in the dining room. "You really love to play with Puck and you even call him Bubby. It's weird that you showed your true nature whenever you see him. I had to admit…that was pretty cute. A little girl plays with cute animal."

Beatrice's cheeks were red when he told her that she loves to play with Puck or call him Bubby. "I am 400 years old." She said.

…

…

...

"What?"

"I'm 400 years old. I'm not a child."

First, he found out Emilia is 115 years old. Now, he found out Beatrice is 400 years old. This little girl is older than her! This world is so weird when he found out about their age. Everything is so weird. It'll be very awkward if Jiraiya was here and would date older people with a large number of age like 100 or more.

"You're lying?" Naruto asked.

"I'm not lying." Beatrice said.

"But, you're a child."

"Don't call me a child. I am 400 year old and older than you."

There's one question he always wanted to ask about this world. Is that even illegal when someone married a woman who is 100 or more year old?

* * *

_"What should I do after this?"_ Naruto thought as he cleaned on the tube in the bathroom. Rem told him to go clean in this place.

Damn! He cannot believe he told Beatrice about Bijuus because Kurama's chakra burned her hand when she transferred. She figured it out that wasn't his chakra and it was Kurama. It has been a day for living in the mansion. He shook his head and focus about thinking. Maybe, he'll go training after this.

The sound of the door was opened as he stopped and turned his back around to see a person who opened it. It was Rem who opened the door.

"Hey Rem. Here to help me?" Naruto asked.

"No, this is about what we discussed at breakfast."

"Is it about my hair? Oh, I forgot about you were gonna comb my hair. Sorry about that."

"I forgive you. Whenever you need more times, I'll be waiting for you. However, I was wrong about your hair. There's nothing wrong with your hair. It suits you." Rem said as she bowed. "I'm sorry."

Wow, this girl isn't like her sister and anyone else. No one ever do that before. She could be emotionless, but somehow he felt bad about her. Looking at her face, she still has that upset like yesterday. Maybe, it has to do with her past because her village got destroyed by a group called Witch Cult. She really hates them so much.

Naruto waved his hand to tell her that it wasn't her fault. "It's okay! It's my fault, too-ttabayo! Then, how about this... you helped me here, so I can talk with you. Okay?" He asked.

"As your wish." Rem accepted as she closed the door from behind. She took out her socks and shoes before grabbing the mop to help him. "Emilia told me about you and she was right. You're a strange person, but special person with a kind-heart."

"She told you about me?" The blond surprised. "I wasn't trying to be close with her. We're just a friend."

"I see." She said. "Naruto-kun, what do you want talk about?"

"If you're concerned about my hair, I don't mind. I don't comb my hair very much. Mostly, I washed my hair when I take a shower." He said.

"I shall do as you wish." Rem accepted as she bowed and started to look at Naruto.

She has something to ask him about yesterday and wanted to ask him how he knows she was upset. Her big sister doesn't know that because she didn't tell her.

Yesterday, Naruto was different person when he helped her and talked with her. There's nothing wrong, but Ram warned her to be careful of him. His mana hurt Beatrice and he has a witch miasma. However, she had to admit that he wasn't a spy or the witch. Naruto didn't do any suspicious moves. He trained at the yard and helped her work.

"Naruto." She said

"What's up?" Naruto asked

"About yesterday…how did you know I was upset?"

"Your emotions." He answered as he breathed out and prepared to tell her truth about yesterday. "I found upset emotion from you, but deep inside of you…I found your anger. So anger."

Rem was shocked from his answers and got hit right in her heart. This guest… how did he know about this? Pretty sure nobody told him about her, but she felt like someone told him already. Her big sister wouldn't tell him about their past because they protects each other. Naruto probably don't know about her race, but a word angry made her think that he knows about her.

She stared at his blue eyes. They're same just like the yesterday and were filled with emotions, sadness, and pain. It was a strange feeling to get it from him because he seemed like he has been through those emotions before.

"Naruto-kun…how do you know that I was angry?" She asked.

"I don't know, but…" Naruto said as he stared at her eyes. He can feel their anger. "Your eyes. I noticed they are glaring at me. They're not too happy to me because they want me to leave the mansion."

"Wh-What?" She shocked as she stopped her work. He told out that she was angry because she doesn't want him to stay here too long. "What are you talking about, Naruto-kun?"

"Deep inside of you, remember? Your eyes are angry because I reminded you of someone else." He said.

"N-No, I wasn't angry at you." She said as she tried to say something good to him, but she realized why she does that. Why is she worried about him? She doesn't like him with a witch scent, but she changed her subject so sudden.

She had a flashback about her villager getting destroyed by Witch Cult. They murdered everyone and the children. They tortured the children. Cruel. Evil. Disgusted. Her big sister, Ram protected her from Witch Cult, but she cried when she saw Ram gets hurt. She got so angry and hated them so much for what they did to her and their village.

Rem can't forgive them for hurting her sister. That's why she hates the person with witch scent because she protected her sister.

"Naruto-kun, f-forgive me for being-"

Naruto shook his head with a gesture hand as he finished his works and smiled at her. "You don't have to say anything to me, Rem. I know what you tried to say, but I'm the one who should forgive you. I understand your emotion. Trust me, I know someone." He said as he got up from the bath and grabbed his shoes with socks.

He looked back to her for a second and left the room.

After he left the room, everything is so quiet. Rem was silent after Naruto left the room. She…She doesn't know what to say to him. He wasn't angry and disappointed. He was so calm and understandable.

Was she wrong about him?

* * *

_"Naruto."_ Emilia thought as she stared at her hand that she held his hand from the last night. His feeling… It has everything. Truthfully, she loves that kind of those feelings from him.

Naruto is…different and not like the other humans. He's very kind and heart-warming person, but there was something else about him. His eyes… She noticed them that they were staring at her eyes. His eyes were filled with pain and suffer. He must have been through those hurt feelings before.

"Puck." She said as the cat flew in front of her face.

"Yes?" He asked.

"What do you think of him? Give me honest answers."

"Well, Beatrice and I made thought about him. She sensed the Witches miasma around him. Yes, I believed her, but we're not sure." He said.

"Not sure?"

"Yeah, we're not sure if he's one of the Witches because he's a shinobi. He doesn't use a magic like them. No way." Puck said as he turned to the window and watched Naruto training at the yard. "I believe he's not of them because he saved your life."

"You and Naruto are really close friends." Emilia said with a smile.

"Yep, you and him, too! You two have a good friendship." He said with a thumb up. "He's very good person and respectful! That's what I like about him!"

The reasons why he likes about Naruto because he has a good heart and sweet person. Naruto doesn't seem to be care about her being a half-elf after she revealed herself. Then, he became a friend with her. Lia doesn't have any friends from her past because her appearance looks like Satella, the Witch of Envy. Humans don't like her because her appearance.

However, Lia has finally made her first friend with Naruto. She likes his personality. He's funny, crazy, and awesome. He has a good heart inside of him. Also, the boy understands Lia'a feeling which it got him very surprise. Puck watched those two talking and laughing at each other. It was very nice to see Lia's happy life with Naruto.

"What about you, Lia? What do you think of him?" Puck asked as he looked at her.

Emilia smiled as she placed her hands on the chest and felt the heartbeat. "Naruto is very gentle person. He gave me courage not to give up my dream and push forward when he saw me I was depressed. He's not like the other humans. He showed his kindness to me after I revealed him of my appearance. His feeling… It has everything."

Yes, Naruto has everything with emotions.

"Lia, I trust Naruto." Puck said

"Really?" Emilia surprised as she looked at him.

"Yeah, I can trust him. You can trust him, too." Puck nodded as he looked at Naruto. "Maybe, he can change your life…"

"Did you say something?" The half-elf asked as she didn't catch him what he is saying.

"Nothing."

If Naruto stays longer and hangs out with Lia, he could probably change her life. A happy life that Puck wants. Honestly, he would choose Naruto over Roswaal for protecting Lia because he can change her life. He can do better job than Roswaal.

* * *

Naruto sat on the grass, enjoying the nice weather with a cool breeze touched his face and his hair. It has been 3 days since he stuck in this world and stayed at the mansion. He was wondered how things are going in his village after he got teleport.

There was nothing that he can do here. He trained himself and helped the maidens' works, but today is the same like yesterday. Everything that he did is the same things like yesterday. He wants to leave the world, but it's not the right way to leave here. Abandoning his friends behind, it isn't his type.

"Naruto-kun."

Naruto heard Rem's voice as he turned around to see her. "Rem? I'm surprised you were looking for me." He said.

"Yes, I did." The blue-haired maiden said as she looked around the yard where he is. "Is this where you do training?"

"That's right, Rem." Naruto nodded. This is rare because Rem usually works at the mansion by herself or with her sister. Right now, she came outside to look for him.

Hopefully, this isn't about chatting in the bathroom. It was probably his fault for telling her that she has angry emotions in her mind.

"Naruto-kun…" Rem said softly as she took a blue comb from her pocket. "You would be mind if I can comb your hair?"

Naruto blinked his eyes for a second, but he did tell her in the bathroom. "Sure, you can." He said with a smile as he turned away and removed his headband.

Rem walked towards Naruto from his back and lied down on her knees. She placed her hand on his spiky hair and stroked it gently. Feeling his hair, she was amazed at how soft it was. Maybe, she was wrong about his hair because she thought his hair will be messy. Comparing his hair to Ram's hair, her hair was soft, but his hair is softer than hers.

It felt nice and soft from his hair. She can't even complain about it.

"Your hair is soft…" She admitted.

"Really? I didn't know my hair can be soft." Naruto said with a smile, not looking at Rem while she's combing his hair. When he felt her hands in his hair, they are soft and nice. Ram was right about her combing skill. "You're pretty good at combing."

"Thank you, Naruto-kun."

"So, you came outside to look for me and comb my hair. Was there another reason why you wanted to see me?" He asked.

"Yes…" Rem nodded as she remembered when he told her that she was angry at him. She hated a person with witch scent because they killed her family and village. "I want to say I'm sorry what I treated you like I don't trust you. I…"

"It's ok, Rem. I guess you must have a bad past, so no need to apologize to me. I understand." He said.

The blue-haired maiden looked at him with shocking eyes as she stopped combing his hair. His eyes. His face. They're so calm and he understands her. Naruto is a strange person, but he's a good person when she realized that he's... he's not forcing her to tell him about her story. She never told him that.

"Naruto, do you hate demons?" Rem asked.

"No, I don't hate them because you don't know what they do. They're innocent demons because they were being used. Only the fools with mindless and greed that want to control them." Naruto remembered Kurama that he got used by Madara and Obito. "I felt bad about them because of their hatred. They hate humans because they don't like being used. They don't like when people don't care if they have names."

"What will you do when you approached demons with hatred?" She asked curiously.

"Then…I'm going to come after all that hate inside them as well someday… I want to be friends with demons." He said with a smile before he saw Rem's face is smiling.

Her smile is kinda cute and warm. This is his first time to see emotionless Rem with a bright smile.

"Rem…you're smiling?" Naruto asked.

Rem placed her hands on the chest with a smile. This feeling…is warm from him. "Thank you, Naruto-kun." She said softly.

"I-I didn't do anything."

"You did, Naruto-kun…" She said with a smile as she reached her hands to stroke his hair again. She wanted to feel it again. "Your hair is so soft and warm… When I combed my sister Ram's hair, it's soft. But, your hair is nicer and softer than my sister's hair."

"Really? Do I?"

"Yes, Naruto-kun." She smiled as she continued to comb his hair and ran through with her fingers. Truthfully, this is her best day ever combing Naruto's hair because how it felt.

Rem is almost for combing his hair, so she crawled around him and switched in front of him. She continued to comb his hair in front of him until…she realized she is too close to him. Her eyes are looking at his eyes. His azure eyes are pure and beautiful. They were filled with emotions. Her body was frozen and stopped combing his hair.

_"What is this feeling? Why do his eyes look like mine?"_ She thought.

"Rem?" Naruto asked with a blush.

His voice snapped her mind out off as she realized she's too close to him. "Sorry…" She said as she back away from him and finished combing his hair.

"So, I'm finish?" He asked.

"Yes, Naruto-kun." Rem bowed as she started to leave him, but she turned around to look at him again. "Naruto."

"What's up?"

"Can I… Can I comb your hair again?"

"Sure, of course, Rem-ttabayo! Thank you for combing my hair!"

Rem smiled at him as she bowed him and left him in the yard. Maybe, she is wrong about him because he's very nice person and his hair. It'll be a good idea to report Roswaal that Naruto isn't a spy.

* * *

Naruto sat down on the chair, reading his favorite book calls "The Tale of a Gutsy Ninja". It's written by his teacher Jiraiya who has died in the battle. Sure Jiraiya maybe a pervert guy and wrote pervert books, but not exactly what Naruto thinks of him. His teacher made his first book and supposedly about him before he was born. It inspires him never give up and vows to break the curse, which represents the cycles of war, conflict, and hatred that occupies the ninja world.

The boy never forgets his sensei's book because it's the best book ever in his life. He smiled at the book and never forgets him because he's the godfather and great teacher. The greatest shinobi in the ninja world.

"Alright." Naruto finished as he closed the book and put it on the desk. He checked outside to see how late he was because he has been reading the book a whole time.

It's very late and everyone is sleeping already. He needs to go sleep now before tomorrow, but there's something that he wants to check first before going to his bed. Since he's still wearing his clothes, it's a good chance to check everything.

**"Make sure if no one comes to the mansion." Kurama said.**

_"I know that, Kurama."_ Naruto remembered Elsa who attacked Emilia from a few days ago. Even he defeated her, but he still needs to make sure everything will be alright.

He's already out of his room and walked in the hallway. He looked outside through the window to see any intruders were outside. No intruders, so that's good to hear and the mansion is safe. By the way, the sky is beautiful as he looked it up at the moon and stars. Naruto thought about his village and how peaceful it was.

The few minutes past as Naruto glanced to the right when he heard a footstep in his direction. It's too dark for him to see it, but he sensed the aura and recognized. Before he was going to ask, but he dodged when he saw the wind blade fires him.

That wind blade is very sharp and dangerous because the wall got sliced into a half.. It can cut through wood or maybe the stone.

Naruto clenched his fists and glared at the enemy who used wind magic to him. "Why are you doing this to me…Ram?" He wondered as the pink-haired maiden came out from the shadow.

"If someone seems suspicious, punish them. This is the rule of maids." Ram answered.

"What are you talking about? Does Rem know?"

"I intend to finish this before my sister sees anything." She said as she gave him a death stare. "Your mana hurt Beatrice."

"It was an accident! Beatrice already forgave me." Naruto said as he stepped back from her. He didn't want to fight her. "Look! I didn't do anything wrong, Ram! So, why are you attacking me for?!"

"Because you have witch miasma. Rem hates Witch Cult in her life." Ram said as her fists are tight with anger.

"A witch? Me? But, I never do anything to your sister-" Naruto stopped as he dodged another wind blade from Ram's magic. Damn, this girl is going to kill him without telling Rem or Emilia.

This is bad for him. The blond shinobi cannot fight Ram because she's Rem's sister. He can overpower her, but he still doesn't want to hurt her and Rem's feelings. Also, he can't use the Rasengan in here because it'll blow up in the mansion and causes damage. All he can do is summoning the clones to fight with him. His best option is to defeat her without killing her or hurting her.

He clenched his teeth as he unsheathed the kunai and had no choice to fight her. So, she used the wind magic that shot wind blades. That shouldn't be a problem for him. Naruto charged toward her while dodging the wind blades. He jumped on the walls to windows and dashed forward to her. He pinned Ram on the ground from her back and clasped her arm.

"Let go of me!" The pink-haired girl yelled.

"Calm down, Ram! I don't wanna hurt you!" Naruto said.

"El Fula!" Ram said as she unleashed an extreme blast of magical wind and both of them got blew away from each other.

Naruto managed to get recover from the blast as he slid on the ground in his feet. Damn, this girl didn't listen to him what he tried to say. "Look! I'm not what you think I am! Rem already accepted me as a trusted person!" He said.

But, Ram didn't listen as she continued to shoot the wind slashes at him. The shinobi had to dodge them as he rolled over to the wall and used that to cover himself from the wind slashes. A witch? She called him a witch because he smells like a witch. That makes sense. He knew that could happen because Rem and Ram have a terrible past about Witch Cult. But, since when did he get that witch smells?

"Ram! I'm not with the Witch Cult! You have to understand that!" He said.

"Shut up!" Ram yelled as she kept shooting wind slashes at him.

Naruto is still stayed by the wall, but he found something by sensing it. Her aura. Her mana. It's getting low. Ram is losing her mana because she used wind magic too much or used the other magic. There was a condition if she uses too much magic… she's going to die.

"Ram, that's enough! If you use too magic, you'll die from that!" He said as he charged and stopped Ram before she's going to use too much magic. He grabbed her arms and pinned her on the ground again.

He then used the paralysis technique to Ram which he'll have to thanks old friend who is from his world. That should stop her body from using too magic or else she'll die. That'll make Rem sad when she finds out this, but things are alright.

"I used paralysis to you, Ram. You won't able to move anything and using magic." Naruto said sadly as the pink-haired girl scowled him. "I'm sorry I had to do this you."

"Well, well! Look what we have here."

Naruto's head went up and looked at Roswaal who spoke to him. "Roswaal… Is this your plan?" He asked.

"Well… I would say yes because Rem and Ram explained to me that your mana hurt Beatrice." Roswaal said.

"It was an accident, Roswaal. I didn't mean to hurt her." Naruto said as he gripped his kunai. "Are we going to do this?"

"I'm afraid so." He said with a dangerous tone as he prepared with magic.

"Naruto, is that you?"

That familiar voice… It's Emilia. She must have waked up from the loud fight.

_"Emilia?"_ Naruto thought as he sensed her aura coming from the right, but he looked at Roswaal starting to point his arm at the right where Emilia was. That pose…! "You wouldn't!?"

Roswaal showed his evil grin and doesn't care if he shoots at Emilia. Now, he started to shoot at Emilia with an ice spear.

"Not if I can help!" Naruto said as he dashed into a yellow flash speed to save Emilia before ice spear reaches her. Fortunately, his speed is faster than the speed of ice spear. He can save her life in no time.

But, something is wrong with him just now. Everything is starting to get dark in his eyes sight. The sound is too quiet, so nobody hears it except him. He heard something. What is this feeling? Did Roswaal do something-no… it wasn't him. Someone else is using dark magic to him, but who? His body can barely move, but his speed is too slow. He looked at the ice spear and almost reaching Emilia.

This is bad! Really bad! The dark magic is slowing his speed down. Naruto ran after Emilia as possible as he can to save her. He forced his body to run faster before the ice spear kills her. He won't save her life on time, but there's a risk that he had to.

He finally got in front of Emilia and shielded her from the ice spear. There's no other way to save her and himself, but using his body can do for her. Then, the strange dark magic is gone and Naruto got-

"Are…are you…ok?" Naruto asked softly with a dying tone as he started to drop blood from his mouth.

Emilia stared with horror expression at him. He's in front of him and shields her from the ice spear, but it stabbed him right in the heart. "Naruto!" She cried with tears as she grabbed his body before he was going to drop, but he stood on the ground.

"I-Impossible! How can he stand?!" Roswaal shocked. He can't believe that boy still gets up and didn't even drop. The ice spear is already pierced in his heart, but how…?

Those eyes on Naruto's face… They're angry and fury. His azure eyes scared Roswaal from him.

"Impossible…? Give up…? You'll never… make me…" Naruto said as he opened his hand and formed massive Rasengan in instant. Then, he vanished into yellow flash speed and got in front of that clown. "…GIVE UUUP!"

* * *

After the fight has ended, Naruto and Emilia escaped from the mansion as far away as they can. Without his heart, he managed to take Emilia and ran away by using his yellow flash speed. They're pretty far away from the mansion, but they won't make it to capital because he stopped and dropped down.

Roswaal was defeated…by Naruto with his massive Rasengan to destroy him. The mansion is messed because he destroyed it. The two maidens… they are fine, but he doesn't want to talk about them. It's hard to explain.

"Emilia… I…" Naruto said softly as his head is rested on her laps. He saw her tearful eyes with fear and pain while she's trying to heal his body.

Well… Kurama can't save his life because he won't able to heal his destroyed heart. There is no way he can do that… He might just have to let him die in this world. Even the other Bijuus can't help like that. It's too late to heal him.

"Don't talk! This is a serious wound!" The silver-haired girl said as she placed her hands on his heart to heal, but…it's impossible for her to handle it. His heart is completely destroyed and gone because Roswaal's ice spear stabbed his heart and Naruto saved her life.

No! She can't give up yet! There has to be another way to heal him! She tried to heal him harder and harder with everything she got. It's still night because she can't summon Puck at this time. If Puck was here, he can…he can probably heal Naruto…

"It's ok…"

The silver-haired girl shook her head and continued to heal him. "I told you to stop talking! Please don't give up on me, Naruto!" She said, trying not to get panic or scared. But, her magic isn't healing him.

No, no, no and no! This cannot be! There's no way that Emilia can heal her friend, Naruto with his missing heart. It's already gone. They're in the half path to capital, but she's afraid that he won't make there by walking or running.

"Emilia…you…you have to… let it go…" Naruto said with a smile as his hand is taken and grasped by Emilia's hand. Her hand is soft and warm, so he held her hand back. His hand felt good from her hand because it warms his cold out. He can feel her tears drop on his face while she's looking at him.

"Naruto… I… I am so sorry for this happens to you. I'm so sorry that they gave you a bad treatment and attacked you because they said you have a witch miasma…" She sobbed.

The blond shinobi shook his head slowly and still smiled at her. "It's ok…" He said as the girl shook her head and disagreed with him.

"Don't say ok to me! It's not ok! I don't understand why Roswaal did this to you! You didn't do anything bad! You were a good person and a good friend who wouldn't do anything bad!" Emilia cried as she reached her hand for his face and wiped out the blood.

"Well… It's hard to explain… some people… can't trust the stranger… in the house, you know…" Naruto said as he held her other hand. "Maybe… maybe it was because I have… a witch miasma… Not lying… they were right."

"Don't say that to yourself! They were wrong about you! You might have a witch miasma to them, but to me… to me that you're a good person with a heart."

"You know… your beautiful voice and your words make me feel better… Well… my heart is destroyed…" Naruto chuckled slowly.

Emilia cannot believe this man is still smiling at her… He doesn't show his anger, depression, and disappointment after what they did to him. She felt so guilty and ashamed that she was responsible for all of this. Naruto saved her life from Roswaal's magic because he made him go save her, so he can kill him.

It should've been her at that scene otherwise Naruto wouldn't have been alive, but he saved her after all of this. She doesn't know why he should save himself instead of saving her life. "If I wasn't there and smart, you wouldn't have died… But, why? Why did you save me?!" She sobbed.

Her crying stopped as the warmth hand hold on her cheek. She opened her watery eyes and looked at the Naruto in shock. He wore a bloody smile to her like nothing happens to him.

"In the village… my village… my teacher told me… Those who break the rules are scum… but those who… who abandon their friends… are worse than scum…" He said as he used his thumb to wipe her tears. "Besides… I'm glad…that you're okay…"

Emilia's eyes widened in shock and looked at him. He sacrificed his life for her because she's his friend and he doesn't want to abandon her… This boy is so… She doesn't know what to say to him after that. She doesn't know how to describe him because he's perfect with everything.

She remembered that he inspired her not to give up her dream, and she did it. She did everything what he told her to understand the history and war. She didn't give up because of his speech motivated her to move forward until she finds the answer.

"Naruto…I haven't done anything to you… I've never been able to… You always save me. I never could do anything for you… I wish I can help you…and repay back to you…" Emilia said.

"It's alright… It's… alright…" Naruto said softly as his voice is getting low and his eyes are closing that made Emilia looked at him panicky.

"Naruto, please don't die! I need you! Please don't! Please don't!" She cried as she lowered her forehead to his. Her tears kept flowing no matter what she tried to stop.

"Em… Emilia… please… don't cry…" He comforted as he wiped her tears again, but his arm was dropped on the ground. However, Emilia saw it as she caught his arm and put on his chest gently.

"Naruto… I… I…" Emilia said as her head moved up a bit and lowered down for his lips… She captured his lips into the kiss. His lip is warm and soft, but it turned into cold in the seconds. "I love you."

"Wow… I'm… surprised… Then…I …lov…" Naruto breathed out as he closed his eyes and rested his body. His hand has finally let go of Emilia's hand that made her looked at him.

"Naruto… Naruto!" Emilia repeated as she kept her forehead to his, hoping to hear his last words. But, it's too late for her to hear his voice and he's dead.

"NARUTO!"

Naruto opened his eyes in shock when he heard her screaming his name. He got up from the bed and looked around the room. This room… He's still in the mansion and the time is morning.

He placed his hand on the chest and felt the heartbeat. His heart is back. He seemed alright…

"What the fuck…?"


	5. Chapter 5

"What the fuck…?" Naruto shocked as he checked his body to see if he had the injuries. He can feel his heartbeat in the chest. He seemed completely fine, but what's going on?

He remembered he got killed by the ice spear piercing in his heart. He was laying on Emilia's laps, but man… this poor girl cried for him. He can't blame her because she didn't know anything about the attack tonight. Emilia tried so hard to heal him from dying because his heart was destroyed. The night… The night! He remembered he was fighting Ram in the hallway because he has a witch miasma.

Naruto was so sure he fought her in the night, but today is different. The time is morning as he looked through the window. Yeah, it's morning now when he woke up from the dream. Was this a dream? Maybe it is, but he felt real.

_"What's going on? I… I thought I was dead. Was that a dream?"_ Naruto thought.

**"It's not a dream. You were dead." Kurama remembered.**

**"But for some reason, you got sent back to this point in time." Gyuki said.**

_"Seriously?"_ Naruto thought as he held his chest with a hand. So, this is like coming from the future or video game where a player dies and respawn back to the checkpoint. He never had this ability before and unfamiliar in his world

By the way, he remembered there was strange dark magic that interrupted his speed slowed him down from saving Emilia. That wasn't Roswaal or the others because they don't use that kind of magic. That dark magic was used by someone.

_"Did you guys see any strange magic?"_

**"Yeah, we saw that. That dark magic wasn't theirs." Chomei said.**

Naruto nodded and learned new information about dark magic. _"Think this will happen again when I die?"_

**"Dunno, but don't even try it. Even you can change the future, but things could go wrong." Kurama said.**

**"I will have to agree with him. Whatever you die or you suicide to go back to your checkpoint and change the future, everything will go wrong. I advise you don't do that again because it'll give you bad luck." Matatabi said.**

_"Yeah, you guys have a point."_

"Naruto-kun."

The boy turned to the door when Rem knocked on the door. That's right. He remembered he opened the door first before her.

"I'm coming!" He replied as he looked at Bijuus. _"What today is it?"_

**"The hell I know about that, but this is day 3." Kurama said.**

Naruto nodded as he approached the door and grabbed the knob to open. Hopefully, he won't make the mistakes again like his dream or his future. As the door is opened, he knew it's Rem who tried to wake him up and told him to cook breakfast.

"Good morning, Naruto-kun." Rem said as she bowed.

"Morning, Rem." Naruto smiled as he looked around her on right to left and the hallway. He was sure that she'll be here any minutes now. "Where's your sister Ram? You two usually come together."

"I am here and good morning." Ram bowed as she came from the left side.

So…there is Ram right there who tried to kill him in the night from the future. She didn't trust him because she thought he has a witch miasma and worked for the Witch Cult. Naruto understands her feeling because she tried to protect her little sister Rem from the cultist. They hated the Witch Cult because they murdered everyone and destroyed their village.

Maybe, this time that Naruto will change the future in the right way. He will talk with those two maidens and see if he can gain their trust in him.

"So, what's up? What brings you two here?" Naruto asked.

"I was wondering if you can help us to cook for breakfast." Rem said.

Ahh…shit here they go again. Naruto can't cook the foods because he sucks at cooking. Really! He never cooks homemade foods at his home. There's no way he can cook the breakfast, but all he can do is ramen cup or head toward Ichiraku Ramen restaurant.

"I would love to help, but…I'm not very good at cooking." Naruto said as he stared at Ram and pointed his finger at her. Yeah, she got disappointed with him! "Don't you dare say that word 'disappoint' to me! Just because I suck at cooking!"

…

…

…

"Pathetic." Ram said.

Then, her insult hurt his feeling again right in his heart! He got sulked over the cooking skills and got insulted by Rem. Even he knew that she was going to say that, but she still insults him with different words. Damn that pink-haired girl!

"Then, Naruto. You don't have to cook the foods." Rem said as the blond man looked at her. "You can help Ram to peel the fruit's skin."

"Sure, I can-" Naruto stopped as he felt the world begin to spin for a moment and held his head with a hand. He started to have those dreams again about his death.

What is this feeling? It's giving him a headache. That dream is hurting his head. He saw the dark shadow that one slowed him down and made him die. He needs to stop thinking of that dream or else he'll faint.

_"Naruto, please don't die! I need you! Please don't! Please don't!"_

_"Naruto… I… I… I love you."_

**"I love you..."**

Then, Naruto's mind got shut down as his body fell into Rem, but she caught him before falling on the ground. That got her shocked when he fainted on him. At first, he was fine at the moment, but he suddenly went silent and fell.

"Naruto-kun! Are you ok?!"

"Rem, put him back to his bed now."

"Yes, sis!"

* * *

Naruto opened his eyes slowly and felt like he's on his bed again. He looked around his room until he found Emilia sitting on the chair on the right side. She must have been waiting for him to wake up because the two maidens told her. Damn that headache for making him fainted! Those stupid nightmares made him go insane.

Since Emilie is here in his room, it'll be better not to tell her about a return from death. She can trust him, but she's not ready to handle the truth.

"You awake!" Emilia said as she approached him.

"Emilia, what happened?" Naruto asked.

"Rem and Ram told me that you got fainted. They were extremely worried…" Emilia answered.

"I see." Naruto said he moved the blanked and started to get up from his bed, but Emilia dashed and stopped him from getting up. He was forced to sit back on his bed.

"Don't get up! You need to rest!" She said.

"It's fine, Emilia. I'm one hundred percent fine-ttabayo!" He said with a smile, but he forgot to ask her how long has he been sleeping. "How long I've been sleeping?"

"Thirty minutes, but you need to rest."

"I'm fine now, Emilia. Really. They might need my help to cook breakfast."

"Rem and Ram told me you don't have to work today if you're not too well." Emilia said as she grasped his arms and made him look at her face. She showed him with a begging expression. "Please."

Her soft voice reached in his head and his heart as they made him stop. Naruto can't resist her cute face, but he remembered the dream about her. She was in pain and hurt when she watched him dies without his heart. She cried for him and begged him not to die for him because he was her first friend that can make her happy. Naruto was surprised that she confessed her feeling to him and kissed him. They just met 3 days ago.

Emilia is a good friend and sweet girl. She wanted him to stay alive with her, so she can spend time with him. He's the one who can make her happy and change her life. This time, he won't let allow to this happens to her life. That won't happen again just like the future.

_"Naruto, please don't die! I need you! Please don't! Please don't!"_

_"Naruto… I… I… I love you."_

Naruto closed his eyes in seconds and remembered her feelings. He sighed in defeated as he sat back on his bed, but he's not lying down. "Ok, Emilia." He said, causing her to smile.

It's great to see Emilia's smile again because he wanted to see her smile. He didn't want to see her being a sad girl.

The silver-haired girl sat back on her seat and smiled at him that he listened to her and decided to sit back. "How was your feeling? Are you ok?" She asked.

"I feel better now, Emilia." He said. It feels nice to have someone worry like this. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be studying?"

"Well…" Emilia said with a small giggle as her eyes rolled like she's in trouble. "When Rem and Ram told me you got fainted, I… kinda skipped my studies and sneaked pass Puck."

"You did not?"

"Yeah…I might get trouble when he finds out that I'm in your room."

Then a few seconds, Naruto couldn't resist, but he had to burst out a laugh at her for skipping her studies. Damn, this girl is just like his younger self who skips classes and pranks his teacher. That brought him an old memory.

Laughing at Emilia, she started to get embarrassed and gave him a cute pout. It's not like she wanted to skip, but it's just she is worried about Naruto. "This is my first time to skip my study! I've never been into big trouble before, so stop laughing at me!" She said.

"Sorry, sorry! It was just that I'm surprised you skipped study without telling Puck." He stopped as he looked at Emilia with a charming smile. "I won't judge you, but I'm happy that you're here for me."

The silver-haired girl got blushed by his charming smile. This boy knows how to make a handsome smile. It's rude that he made fun of her. Though, it was nice words from him because no one ever says those words to her. Naruto is the kindest human she ever has.

But, there's something wrong with him. The two maidens told her that he fainted because he had a headache. A bad headache… It worried her about Naruto.

"Naruto, are you ok?" She asked in concern.

"I'm fine." Naruto said as he stood up from the bed and gave a quick exercise. He grabbed his clothes and wore them, but he didn't need to bring a jacket with him. "Hey, Emilia… Do you think of me as a nuisance?"

"No way! There's no way I could possibly think of you as a nuisance, or anything like that. I know you wouldn't do anything bad. You're the person who saved my life, Naruto!" Emilia yelled as she approached him and grabbed his hand. Then, she realized she yelled at him and held his hand.

She was going to apologize to him, but she got shocked as his hand is held hers back. She looked at him and he showed a smile to her.

"Thank you, Emilia." He said. "Your beautiful voice and your words make my heart warm."

"Really?" Emilia asked with a blush, but she shook her head to control herself and smiled at him. "You're welcome."

* * *

"I'm sorry for being late, girls." Naruto said as he peeled the apples in the kitchen with Rem and Ram. He wouldn't call this late because he has been sleeping for thirty minutes.

It's time to change the future for once because he agreed with Bijuus not to die again. Changing the future and return from death will give him bad luck. So, he's going have to be serious for fighting the enemies. Whoever gives him that ability, he needs to know why.

"I'm glad you're ok." Rem said as she stared at Naruto's hair that bothers her. There was nothing wrong with his hair, but she knows something wasn't right about his hair.

Ram stopped what she's doing and looked at her sister that staring at Naruto. Her eyes seem to look at… his hair. "Naruto, your unsightly appearance stands out. Especially your hair. It's very unrefined." She said.

"Huh? My hair?" Naruto finished peeling apples as he looked at his hair. He knew Rem is staring at his hair, but he had to play along with his plan. "There's nothing with my hair. Nobody complains about my hair."

"I see. Rem is staring at you because your hair is bothered her." Ram said as she looked at Rem. "Am I right?"

"Yes, sis." She answered.

"Really? Does that mean you're going to comb my hair?" Naruto asked.

"Yes, I'm going to comb your hair after we finish breakfast." Rem said.

Yep, Naruto is going to let Rem to comb his hair after they eat breakfast. Maybe, it's a good idea to do that. However, he's always wanted to talk with Ram because he hasn't chat with her before. He could use the clone to have a chat with her before tonight because she's going to kill him.

"Hey, Ram."

"Yes?"

"I was wondering if you can teach me how to read and write."

"I thought you know?" Ram asked.

"Well… in my village, we read and write a different language." Naruto said. That was from the beginning where he first appeared here.

When he first appeared, he explored the market and saw weird languages. It's not like his languages. He didn't understand the weird languages, but at least he understood what people were saying.

"I see. Yes, I can teach you how to read and write after Rem combs your hair." Ram said.

* * *

"Are you ready?" Rem asked with a comb in her hand.

Naruto sat on the grass and waited for her to comb his hair. "I'm ready." He said.

Rem lied down on her knees and placed her on his spiky hair to stroke it gently. Her eyes widened in shock at his hair how soft it is. She was wrong about his hair because she thought it'll be poking. Comparing his to Ram's hair, his hair is softer than hers.

It felt nice and soft from his hair. She can't complain about that. "Your hair is soft." She admitted as she brushed his hair with a comb.

"My hair is always soft." Naruto said with a smile, not looking at her while she's combing his hair. Damn! When she stroked his hair, her hands are so soft and nice. It's almost like he's ready to go to heaven.

"Naruto-kun."

"Yeah?"

"About yesterday…how did you know I was upset?"

The same question just like they talked in the bathroom. Naruto will do the same thing like that. "Your emotion, Rem. Not only I found your upset emotion, but I also found your anger and hate in deep inside of you." He said.

"My anger? My hate?" She shocked. This man… How did he know about this? For sure, nobody tells him about her past and her emotions, but she felt like someone told him.

She knows her sister wouldn't tell him about their past because they kept their secret. He maybe doesn't know about them, but the two words 'anger' and 'hate' made her think that he knows everything about her. This man seems to work for Witch Cult because he has the smell of witch. However, he doesn't seem to be one of them.

"Yeah, your anger and your hate…" Naruto said with a bit smile as he remembered his past. "Somehow your feelings remind of me because I had them before. That was a long time ago."

Those words stopped Rem from combing her hair as she went in front of him and sat down. "What happened?" She asked as she started to get interesting his story.

_"Out of love, sacrifice is born… Hate is born and we are able to know pain. Yes… Know pain."_

Naruto remembered that memory. That was a battle between him and Pain in the destroyed village. He got so angry and unleashed Kyuubi chakra when he saw his friend gets killed by him. However, the anger and hate won't give a victory. It won't bring everyone back.

"Well, I can't tell you because it was…so horrible, but I can tell you some parts of it. There was a guy who I hated him so much. He destroyed everything in my life." Naruto said. "I got so angry at him when he killed my friend as she tried to save my life. I lost my control and hated him so much. I wanted to kill him, but using hate and anger… it won't bring everyone back."

"It won't bring everyone back…?" Rem wondered as she had a flashback about the past. The Witch-Cult killed everyone in her village and hurt her sister. That got her so angry and hate them so much.

Naruto nodded as he continued to tell her his story. "Yeah, those kinds of feelings won't bring them back. You will hurt everyone's feeling that is close to you. For example… like your sister! You two are close and protect at each other."

"My sister? What do you mean?"

"Let's put that in there and make it like mine. You used the feeling of anger to fight the enemy that you hate. You got angry and hate him because he almost killed your sister. If you used them, you will hurt her feeling. Do you get it?"

"Yes, I see…"

The anger and hate won't bring everyone back. She started to realize that Naruto is almost like her. The feelings of anger and hate will hurt Ram's feeling that is sister and close to her. If she uses them to kill the Witch Cult, she will hurt her feeling.

This man… He showed his humanity. What kind of past did he been through?

"Naruto, do you hate demons?" Rem asked.

"No, I don't hate them because you don't what do they do. They're innocent demons, so you must understand their feeling. I felt sorry about them because they hate humans. They hate them because they don't like being used as a weapon." Naruto said. "Well, you might think demons are scary, but they have a heart. They can make you laugh."

At that moment, Naruto found a smile on Rem's face again like the future. Her smile is even better than that. It's cute and warm. His second time to see her smiling.

"Nice smile, Rem." He smiled.

Rem placed her hands on the chest. This feel is warm and nice of him. "Thank you, Naruto-kun." She said.

"I didn't do anything."

"You did, Naruto-kun." She said as she reached her hand to stroke his hair again. She wanted to feel again. "I think you don't need me to comb your hair. Your hair is so soft and warm."

"Didn't you like to comb your sister's hair? I wasn't trying to steal you from her."

"My sister's hair is soft, but yours is softer and nicer than hers."

Naruto was going to ask her to stop, but he changed his mind and let her stroke his hair. Her hands are very soft and nice.

"Naruto."

"Yeah?"

"Can I… Can I comb your hair again next time?"

That same question got him surprised again. Man, he didn't know that his hair is soft and nice to Rem's thought. Usually, nobody combs his hair before because he doesn't comb his hair on his own. However, he kinda wants Rem to comb his hair again.

"Sure, Rem. I don't mind." He smiled.

"Thank you." Rem said as she's still smiled at him. "And, Naruto."

"What's up?"

"Can you come shopping with me tomorrow? I need your help for carrying bags."

"Sure, no problem-ttabayo!"

* * *

"I'm not gonna lie. This is easy than I thought." Naruto said as he wrote the words on the paper. After he's finished with Rem's combing, Ram gave the book to him and told him to copy the words.

He did everything that she told him to do, but this is easy than his thought it was. The language in this world is weird and funny. Anyways, he needs to learn how to read and write, so he can explore the world on his own.

"Pardon my intrusion, Naruto." Ram said as she came into his room with the drinks. It's just an apple juice that was requested by him. "I see you really are studying."

"I thought this will be hard, but it was easy." Naruto said as he turned around to look at her. "So, you brought the apple juice that I told you."

"Yes, Naruto." She said as she placed the apple juice on the desk and poured it in the cup for Naruto. Then, he grabbed the cup from her. "How is your studying?"

"Easy." He smirked as he drank the juice and notice her aura when he sensed it. That was strange because Rem's aura was stronger than hers. Ram is the oldest sister, but how come?

Ram seemed to notice him that he's staring at her. She felt uncomfortable with him because he has the witch miasma. However, her sister Rem told her that he's human and not with the Witch Cult. That made Ram goes little fishy of Naruto because he's nice and respectful to everyone. She doesn't trust him and his behaviors.

"Hey, Ram." Naruto said.

"Yes?" She asked as she stayed cautious of him.

"Do you hate me because I remind you of someone?" Naruto asked seriously.

"What?" Ram asked with a shock as she looked at him. This man isn't joking around by looking at his eyes. Those eyes aren't lying to her.

"Do you hate me or angry at me because I have a witch miasma, am I correct?" Naruto asked.

"What?! Since did you…?"

"I sensed your negative emotion from you and your sister. I noticed both of you are watching me." He said as he looked at himself. Honestly, he doesn't know why he has that witch miasma with him. "I understand why you two are suspicious of me because I have a witch miasma. I can feel your anger, Ram. You maybe think I'm with Witch Cult, but I'm not your enemy and have nothing to do with them."

Ram was shocked that Naruto told her he has the witch miasma. He isn't lying to her. He's telling her the truth about himself.

"I never do anything to Rem because she's your sister. You two are close sisters together because you girls' bond is strong." Naruto said with a bit smile as he bowed to her. "I'm sorry."

"Naruto…you don't have to apologize to me. I'm the one who should be apologizing to you." Ram said. This is her first time to see him bows her and she realized she saying it was fault herself. "It's our fault."

"Ram, do you trust me?" He asked.

That was a hard part when he asked her. Ram doesn't know what to say to him because he told her the truth. What should she-no… Naruto isn't one of the witches because he showed his kindness to Emilia and Rem. He saved Emilia's life from the assassin which is that counts.

Maybe, she can give him a chance.

"Yes, Naruto. I trust you and I forgive you." She answered as she lifted his arm to stand up. "Please stand up."

"Are you sure? If you have an order from Roswaal, I didn't want-"

"I will explain to Roswaal that you're not the enemy. Don't worry about it because Emilia seems to enjoy your presence."

Wow, that was easy to convince Ram to trust him. Yeah, he knew Ram was following Roswaal's order to keep her eyes on him because they weren't so sure they can trust him in the mansion.

"Ok, I should focus on my studies." Naruto said as he continued to study and took another drink. "Thanks for a drink, Ram. And thank you for trusting me."

Ram nodded as she bowed to him and grabbed the drinks from him. She didn't say anything to him, so she grabbed it and walked toward the door.

* * *

"Ram said she wouldn't be coming to see you tonight, so I agreed to help with your studies. I'm afraid I can't do much, though." Emilia said as she stood by him in his room. She's here to help him with his studies.

Honestly, Naruto doesn't need help from anyone, but it'll be rude to say to Emilia that he doesn't need her. Things are getting better and better than his future. He convinced Ram to trust him with the truth that he has witch miasma.

"Right now, I'm writing the basic i-glyph until I memorize them. At first, I thought it's going to be hard to learn, but it was easy." He said.

"Wow, you're focusing on your studies far more than I expected." She said as she moved closer to his side to see his works. He works really hard until she saw a different book on his left side. "What's that book on your left side?"

Naruto stopped and looked at his side where she's looking at. She's looking at his book "Tales of a Gutsy Ninja". "Oh… that's my teacher's book." He answered as he showed her his book and she grabbed it from him.

When Emilia took a good look at his book, the language is unfamiliar to her. The words on the book are doodles, but it'll be better to ask him. "What kind of language is that?" She asked as she sat down on the bed.

"Let's see... In my village, we called it the Japanese language."

"Oh… So you're a foreigner who comes from another place or far from here."

"You can say that I'm a foreigner. The book that you're holding, it calls 'Tales of a Gutsy Ninja'."

"What an interesting title. I didn't know your teacher is the author."

"He's the best teacher, but actually he wrote a book about me."

"Really?!" Emilia surprised. "He wrote a book about you."

"Yep, this book is about me! A ninja never gives up and vows to break the curse, which represents the cycles of war, conflict, and hatred that occupies the ninja world."

The half-elf was surprised when she caught the last sentence from him. Never give up and vows to break the curse, which represents the cycles of war, conflict, and hatred that occupies the world. This feels very familiar to her studies of the royal candidate. The book that Naruto had must be very special.

"Your teacher wrote a story about you. You must be a very special person." Emilia said with a smile.

Naruto nodded sadly as he looked down at the ground which made her looked at him. His face was smiled for the seconds, but his facial expression has changed into that. There is something wrong with him.

"Naruto, are you ok?"

"Yeah, I'm ok." Naruto said as he stood up from the chair and sat down on his bed next to her. "Well, I wouldn't call him a teacher. He was my godfather. He wrote a book about me before I was born."

"Then, he must be a really good person."

"Yeah, he was a really good guy. Unfortunately, he died in the battle."

"I… I didn't know. I'm sorry." Emilia said with a sad look as she looked at Naruto's book. "He wrote the book about you, so he wanted you to read it?"

"That's right. This book is very special to me because it gives me some hope and told me not to give up. He was hoping that I would grow up to be just like the main character in his book." Naruto said with a smile.

"Just like in the book?" Emilia wondered as she looked at the book to Naruto. She can imagine him if he becomes a king, he can change the world.

A ninja never gives up and vows to break the curse, which represents the cycles of war, conflict, and hatred that occupies the ninja world. Naruto's godfather wrote the book and wanted him to be the main character. Naruto is kinda like the main character from Emilia's thought.

Emilia stood up from the bed and walked toward the window to look outside. She saw a lot of stars in the sky. "The stars are beautiful tonight. I'm sure the weather will be good tomorrow." She said.

"Yep, the stars are beautiful." Naruto said as he stood by her and looked at her eyes. He's not gonna lie about them, but her eyes are beautiful like a star.

"What is it? Is there something on my face?!" She worried as she touched her face with hands.

"Stop it, Emilia. You're overreacting." He said as he flicked her in the forehead and made her cute pout at him. She's so cute. "Your eyes are beautiful like a star, Emilia."

The half-elf blushed on her cheeks as she turned to look at Naruto. Her heart started beating fast. Did he…Did he just say that in front of her? His gentle voice. His words. It made her heart beating fast because they're reached inside of hers.

"What did you say?" She asked.

"Your eyes are beautiful like a star, Emilia." Naruto smiled with a blush. He won't lie about her appearance... She's a beautiful half-elf. Only a moron would refuse her if she ever made a move.

Just like what his thoughts from earlier… Emilia is a good friend and a sweet person. If he can take her to his world, she could probably change her life and live there. Maybe she would meet his friends and his teachers, he's sure that they would love to meet her. They can probably teach her a few tricks, but not Kakashi sensei!

It's a bad idea if that teacher teaches her like that!

"Thank you, Naruto. That was very kind words from you." She said as she held her own hands and looked at him. "Naruto."

"What's up?"

"I was wondering if you can teach me how to read and write the Japanese language? Since I helped you, now you help me to learn your language." Emilia said as she held his book and showed him.

Naruto blinked his eyes for seconds with surprise, but he smiled at her. "Sure." He said

* * *

"This is rare… I never thought Naruto can make Rem's smile." Roswaal said as he sat on the chair.

"Yes, Roswaal-sama. Rem wanted you to know that she and Naruto are going shopping tomorrow." Ram said. She saw Naruto and Ram talking in the yard. It's shocked to see her smile because she hasn't been smiling for a long time.

Also, Naruto told her the truth that he has witch miasma and not an enemy of Witch Cult. Ram also told Roswaal about that, too.

"Have you told her? Told her that you want to go with them or replace her place." He said.

"Yes, I did. We were discussed that, but it seemed like she wanted to go with Naruto alone. She trusted him. Shall I tell Naruto that I can go with them?" Ram asked

"Do not worry, Ram. I'm sure that boy won't do any harm to Rem. Emilia-sama and Puck trusted him a lot because he saved her life from Elsa." Roswaal said as he looked at Ram. "I understand your concern because she's your sister. It's a bad choice for you, but we mustn't interrupt them."

Yeah, Roswaal remembered he told Naruto about Rem and Ram that they are oni. However, it was quite surprising that he heard Naruto became a friend with Rem. She usually doesn't like the stranger with witch scent.

Maybe Naruto wasn't one of them at all.

"Ram, what did you think of him?" Roswaal asked.

"In terms of abilities, he's a great helper to us. He did everything that we told him to him." Ram answered. Honestly, she almost spoke to him that Naruto can be trusted with Rem going out for shopping.

"I see. Ram, you may leave the room."

"As your wish, Roswaal-sama." Ram said with a bow as she turned away and left him alone.

After he watched her leaves his office, he looked out the window and smirked. The boy isn't a knight and a new traveler. Took a moment of his eyes, they're strong and sharp like he had been through war experience before. It could be possible that Naruto is stronger than the knights.

Interesting that Naruto defeated Elsa Granhiert, the vampire and Bowl Hunter because she's former of Assassin Organization. No knights can't kill her except high-skillful like Reinhard. The blond boy has no fear of fighting her. He has great mana inside of him. That boy isn't a human because he's a shinobi, but a high-skillful shinobi.

Naruto is different than the other shinobi, His skills. His magic. What is he?


	6. Chapter 6

Emilia is on her break from studying for the royal selection. She has gotten better at this than her usually last time because Naruto inspired her not to give up and not letting her fear scares her. This is her first time to get inspired with a great speech by him. His courage reached her heart and told her not to be afraid by humans. Not letting people told her down.

Her heart told her to move forward until she achieves her dream and changes the world in a good way. She wants the world to be equal.

Naruto… He's a special person and kind-hearted. He's so nice to her when she revealed to him that she's a half-elf. The humans hated her because they think she's a Witch of Frost and Satella. After she told him what she was, he didn't care about her appearance and not afraid of her.

The half-elf doesn't know how to describe him. It was just that he's too nice and a perfect guy who can be her future husband…?

Her cheeks grew red as she held her cheeks with hands and shook her head. She jumped up from her chair.

_"Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh! Have I lost my mind!?"_ She thought with a blush as she looked out from the window and watched Naruto, sitting on the ground. _"I…I met him 3 days ago… What is this feeling?"_

Maybe, she went a little too fast for thinking about love relationships. It was just too quick because she met him 3 days ago. Since she's on the break, there's nothing she can do in her room, but she always wanted to check on Naruto to see what's he doing.

She got out of her room and went outside of the mansion. She saw Naruto sitting on the grass, so she ran toward him to say good morning. But, she stopped when she saw his face is asleep. His sitting position is strange. His legs are crossed and his hands are held together.

"What is he doing?" Emilia asked.

"Oh… Lia." Puck said as he flew out and landed on her shoulder. "Naruto is meditating."

"Meditating?"

"Yes, he's focusing on his mind in silence. Gathering the energy inside of his body." He said as he looked at him. "I'm surprised he can do it, too."

The sliver-haired girl observed Naruto's mediate position. She thought he was sleeping when she saw his eyes were closed, but Puck told her that he's not sleeping. He is doing mediate for focusing on his mind and gathering the energy inside of his body.

This is interesting to see him do that because she could use that like, but she doesn't know how to do it. It'll be better to wait for him until he finishes his meditate.

"Lia, don't try to bother while he's meditating. I'm sure he needs to be alone and quiet." Puck said.

"I won't, Puck." Emilia said as she turned away, but she stared at Naruto… She's staring at his whiskers on his cheeks. They're strange ones, but she wanna touch them and feel them.

She bent over her body and walked toward him quietly, so she doesn't bother him. She reached out her hand to touch his whisker. She was too curious if his whiskers are real or not.

Are they real? What would it feel like to touch them? Let's see if Emilia can find out how it feels like to touch Naruto's whiskers. She needs to get closer and-

"BOO!"

Then, Emilia got scared and screamed from his surprise attack as she fell down on the ground in her butt. She looked at him who started to laugh at her as she glared at him. "Why did you scare me for?! You're so mean!" She said as she gave him a cute punching.

"Sorry, sorry! I love teasing you, Emilia. You're too easy that I can scare you." Naruto smirked as he looked at her clothes. She wore a purple-white short dress like shirt-length. Her arm sleeves are the same color as her dress.

"Naruto?" She asked.

The blond man scratched his cheek gently and can't help it, but he blushed for seeing her dresses like that. "Nothing! Anyways, if you were wondering about my whiskers, they're birth-mark." He said

"Wait, you know I was going to touch them?!" Emilia shocked with a blush as she sat down on the ground while tapping her fingers. So, he knew she was going for his whiskers! He did it on purpose!

"Naruto, I didn't know you can meditate." Puck said.

"Of course, everyone can meditate." The blond shinobi said. "So, what's up?"

"Just want to see you what you doing today. I'm sorry for interrupting your training." She said with a bow.

The blond man waved his hand. "Woah, there. You don't have to say sorry to me. Remember, when you're bored in your room, don't be afraid to talk with me. I'm all opened and eared."

Emilia remembered what he told her from the other night. She hasn't forgotten about his words to her because she kept them in her mind. Honestly, all she ever wanted was to talk with her first friend.

"Okay, Naruto." She said with a smile. "By the way, Rem told me that you two are going to grocery shopping today."

"Yeah, actually. She asked me first if I want to go grocery shopping with her, so I accepted her offer." He said.

"Wow. I'm surprised you two have been working out together."

"We just met a few days ago, but I'm sure we can work it out…" Naruto said.

Yeah, Rem did ask him to go shopping with her because she needs his help with carrying stuff. It's almost like they're going for a date. Honestly, he wants to go there and meets the villagers. It'll be nice to have a chat with them.

On the second thought, Emilia hasn't gone anywhere in this place. She has been staying in the mansion and studies her royal candidate. Naruto just had an idea about this. He can take Emilia to the village after he and Rem returns or do it tomorrow.

"Emilia."

"Yes?"

"After Rem and I done for shopping, how about you and I going out together tomorrow? To the village."

"Going out together?"

"That's what friends do. Since you have nothing to do at home, you call your friend to hang out together. Fun things."

"Oh, um… The village, huh?" Emilia asked as she's uncomfortable going to the village with Naruto. It's not that she doesn't want to go with him… It was just that she doesn't want to cause village trouble for him because she's a witch and Witch of Envy. The villagers wouldn't like her to come to their village. "I love to, but…it might cause trouble for you. And for the villagers…"

That sad look on her face broke Naruto's heart. He knew that would hurt Emilia's feelings and she refuses because she doesn't want to cause trouble for him. She's a very kind and sweet person, but she's too afraid that the villagers will…no screw those words! Emilia needs to go out with him because she always been alone in her room with no friends.

He won't give up on her until he can see her happy. He wants her to have fun and spend time with him what friends do.

"Emilia, no matter what people think of you. No matter what anyone says about you. No matter what you think of yourself, I will always stay right beside you." Naruto said as he took her hand gently and grabbed her pinky finger with his. "Then, let's make a promise. If they say bad things about you, I won't let their hatred get into your mind and your heart."

Emilia was surprised when he grabbed her pinky finger and made a promise for her. The word "hatred"… He won't let them get in her mind and her heart. "A promise?"

"Yeah! I will take their hatred for you and break that curse. If there is a thing such as peace, I will find the answer. So I won't give up! I want you to be happy for me and Puck." He said.

"Happy?" She asked

"Do you remember what I told you about my friends? Well, actually I don't have a lot of friends from my past when I was a child. I didn't make any friends, but until I grow up… I found them. The reason why I love them because they saved me from myself. They rescued me from my loneliness. They were the first to accept who I am." Naruto smiled as he listened to his heartbeat and remembered the feeling from his two friends. "Now, it's my turn to save you from your loneliness."

The half-elf was silent and looked at him with a shocked face. His smile is too pure and warm. She…doesn't know what to say to him. She refused his offer, but he still keeps doing that for her. Naruto is seriously going to take hatred from humans and break the curses for her.

When he said his friends saved him from himself, it sounds like he's like her with no friends in the past. Sadly, she didn't make friends because they don't like her. Right now, she has Naruto as a friend that will save her life from herself and rescue her from her loneliness.

"Naruto…" She said softly as she held his pinky finger and smiled beautifully at him. "Naruto, thank you. Yes, I will come with you."

"Good! That's a promise-ttabayo! For tomorrow, I won't break and die-" Naruto paused as he sensed something evil around him. He saw the familiar dark fog appears in front of him, blocking Emilia from him. The long transparent arms reached out from the magic rune and moved toward him.

The blond shinobi tried to evade, but he can't move his body in the dark fog. He knows this dark magic before.

**"I… Love… You."**

His eyes widened in pain and his hand flew to his chest as he felt something grab his heart. The shadow hand grabbed his heart and squashed it, making him fall down on the ground. He can hear Emilia's voice screaming him.

"Naruto! Naruto!" Emilia said as she rushed toward him and grabbed him before his body collapses on the ground. She watched him breathing very hard and fast.

Deep inside of him, Kurama and the other Bijuus know what's going on. They saw what happened to him. Naruto isn't the only one that found the aura first.

"Naruto! Are you okay?" She concerned as the blond man started to calm and his breathing is slowing down. "What happened? You suddenly fell down."

"I…I don't know." Naruto said truthfully as his eyes rolled on left to right to look for the shadow arms. He can't find them or any aura of the witch around here. "I honestly don't know what's wrong with me-"

Emilia didn't give him a chance to talk as she raised her hands to touch his head in an instant. This feeling from her hands is so warm.

"There's nothing wrong with you." The half-elf said as she finished checking and looked at him in concern. "Are you ok? You almost fell down."

"I'm ok, Emilia." Naruto said as he stood up, but he saw Emilia grabbed his arm to help him to stand up. "Thanks for your help. Guess I have to stop my training for today."

"This is serious. Are you really ok?"

"Emilia, I'm fine. You checked me already and said nothing wrong with me."

"Don't push yourself, Naruto." She said, still worried.

"I won't, Emilia." He chuckled. "I have to get ready for Rem. We'll go the village today."

This is strange. Naruto never felt this pain before because he's a healthy guy and never had that heart attack. It wasn't a heart attack because he saw what happened. The strange black and purple arms came from the magic rune. One of them grasped his heart.

He wasn't sure who did that, but he caught the scent of shadow arms. That aura or magic belongs to the witch. Kurama and the others told him that they saw them, too.

"You sure, Naruto?" Emilia asked again, her worried expression never change.

"I'm sure, Emilia." The blond man said with a smile as he gave her a pat on the head and moved on. But, he stopped when his hand was grabbed by her hands as he turned around to see her.

"Please be careful…" She said with a worried tone as her hands are shaking with fear.

Naruto felt her hands are shaking in his hand. It kept shaking and felt a bit numb. She got scared when he fell and had a heart attack. Emilia doesn't want to see him get hurt like that because he's her first friend.

Her eyes… Her face… They're the same expression like the future when she cried for him. That's right, he remembered her face. She doesn't want him to die because she wanted him to stay with her. She'll be all alone without him.

"Emilia." He called.

"Yes-" Emilia laughed as he started to tickle her on the side of a body.

The half-elf can't stop her laughing while getting tickled by him. She tried to fight it back, but she can't do it and she kept laughing. Both of them fell down on the ground together and she knows this kind of position. She's on the ground as she looked it up at him.

Her purple eyes meet his azure eyes. He's on top of her.

"There's a smile I want to see, Emilia." He said.

The silver-haired girl stared at him for a good second. His handsome face. His beautiful blue eyes. Maybe, he's a perfect guy who can make her smile and laugh. Is this what love feels like for being with him?

She reached her arms up toward his face and put her hands on his cheeks. Her silky soft fingers trailed across the whiskers on his cheeks. His whiskers feel thick, but they're soft and nice. Naruto had a blush when she touched them, but he closed his eyes calmly as her fingers stroked them.

In the moments, he no longer has blush and let her fingers continued to stroke his whiskers. It's his first time getting touch by her soft fingers. Honestly, he doesn't remember getting his whiskers touch by girls. For sure, some girls touched him before, but he wouldn't buy that because Emilia's hands are the best.

_"Naruto… I… I… I love you."_

That memory shot in his mind as he opened his eyes to look at Emilia. "E-Emilia, maybe we should get up." He said as he quickly got up off her and offered her a hand.

Emilia was disappointed at this because she wanted to touch them more. But, she realized she touched his whiskers without saying. "Y-Yes…" She said with a blush as she grabbed his hands and lifted herself up. Her worried expression has change into a happy one. She enjoyed his presence.

"Sorry that I stayed too long." He said.

"I-I'm the one who should be sorry…" She said.

* * *

Naruto has finally changed the butler suit into his clothes. Everything smells so good and clean. Rem did a great job of washing his clothes, but damn she did everything in the mansion. She cooks, cleans, and washes.

Rem should deserve to take a break and try to have a good time today. He was very surprised that she asked him to go shopping with her. She let Roswaal and her sister Ram know that she'll be going with him. This girl though… he noticed her eyes were filled with upset, shame, and anger. A few days ago, she took a suspicious of him. He understands why she did that, but what for?

Maybe, it was about her past because Roswaal told him about their life. Their village got attacked by a group calls Witch of Cult. They're responsible for that. No wonder why he felt the anger presence from Rem because she hated them so much.

Snapping his mind out, he heard someone knocks on the door. He walked toward the door and opened to see someone who knocked on the door.

"Ram?" Naruto blinked in slight surprise as he found Rem's sister standing in front of his room.

"Naruto, I heard you and Rem are going to the village together. Am I correct?" She asked.

"Yeah, you're right. Rem's the one who planned this before today. She asked me if I want to go with her, so I said yes." Naruto said. "Is Rem not coming today?"

"Yes, she's coming. She needs to prepare something before going to the village." She said.

"I see…" He nodded, but he sensed the aura from her. That was strange because Rem's aura was stronger than hers. Ram is the oldest sister.

"Naruto, can I ask you something?"

"Yeah, what's up?"

"Yesterday, my sister Rem told me that you don't hate demons."

"Yeah, that's right. She asked me 'what will I do when I approached demons with hatred?' I answered her with this. I'm going to come after all that hate inside them as well so someday." He said with a smile. "I want to be friends with demons."

Ram widened her eyes a bit with a shock expression. She can see why Rem started to like this man because he doesn't hate demons. Not only he doesn't hate demons, but he understands the emotion from them.

"Ram, you and your sister are very close. I'm amazed by the bond you two share." Naruto said with a smile.

"Yes, we're sisters. We protect each other."

"Alright then." He nodded. "By the way, you're sure that you two are maidens that work here? There's gotta be another one who works here before."

"Actually, yes there was one who works with us before. But, she quit her job." Ram answered.

"Really? Why?"

"I cannot tell you that detail because it was her reasons."

"I understand." Naruto said as he grabbed his headband from the desk and wrapped around his forehead.

Again about his thought, Ram doesn't seem to be much stronger than her little sister Rem. However, Naruto sensed her aura that she can use magic. That was weird because those two are sisters and supposedly born with one horn on each of them. Rem has one, but Ram doesn't.

"Something's wrong?" Ram asked.

"It's nothing." Naruto said as he shook his head.

* * *

"Aright! I'm gonna demonstrate some moves today."

Rem watched with surprised looks on her face at the scene in front of her. She just returned from the shop. It seems like Naruto is showing to everyone what he can do. He punched in the straightway first and threw a roundhouse kick in front of everyone.

Then, he stopped after using a roundhouse kick and took a deep breath from his chest slowly. His fighting pose is still on which is how the martial artist does.

"This is awesome! I wanna try that!"

"Careful, Lucas. This is going to be hard for you."

"Naruto, Naruto! What about mine!?"

"Nice punch and a good kick. Keep up good work."

The two boys, Luka and Cain seem so happy by the praise given from the shinobi blonde. They enjoyed it with him. Not only just those two, but the villagers enjoyed his appearance. They watched him demonstrating the children from behind them.

"What's this, Petra?" Naruto asked as he looked at the little girl with long reddish-brown, holding the couple of flowers in her hands.

"This is for you, Naruto!" She said.

Seeing the smile on Petra's face, the blond shinobi smiled back to her as he picked the flowers from her. "Thank you." He said as he ruffled on her head gently.

Rem was surprised that the children like Naruto and the villagers, too. It's his first time to visit here. When they entered the village, they were supposing to buy some food for dinner. Naruto didn't do anything wrong, but the villagers approached him to meet their new guest.

"Hey, hey! Are you the knight?!" Luka asked.

"Nope, I'm not. I'm a shinobi." Naruto answered.

"A shinobi?" Luka's father asked as he walked beside his son. "It's our first time to see shinobi come to our village."

"Really?"

"Yeah, we saw most of the knights. However, it's very rare for us that we get to meet shinobi."

Naruto nodded in understandable and looked away for a second. So, he isn't the only shinobi in this world. Well, they're not like his version because he came from another world. That's interesting, so he was wondered that he can meet the other shinobi.

"So, I'm first?" He asked.

"No kidding. You're the first person who visits here." Luka's father said as he looked at the children. "And the children would love to see your shinobi technique."

"Maybe, next time." Naruto said before his back of the jack was pulled as he turned around to see it. He saw Petra. "What's up?"

"There's something we want to show you." She said as she pointed at the forest. There was another girl over there by the fence.

Naruto looked at Rem that finished her shopping until she nodded to let him go. So, he followed her and the children to the fence. But, there was a warning about the forest and not allow to go in there. The barriers were placed in the trees to protect the village from the monsters calls Demon beasts. Good thing that Rem warned him.

When he and the children are at the fence, Naruto met a little girl with blue hair. The girl was holding the black cute puppy with a bald on the head in her arms. The children want to show him that the girl has a puppy.

"A puppy?" Naruto wondered before he changed into a smile at the puppy how cute it is. But, the puppy seems to growl at him for no reason.

"The puppy is tamed." Luka said.

"What did you do to that puppy?"

"I didn't do anything." Naruto said as his eye is twitched and looked at the puppy. He noticed there was a bald spot on the head. "Hey, you have a bald spot on your head."

He started to reach for the puppy's head to touch it, but its bite on his hand. His eyes are narrowed in pain as he swiped his hand away from the puppy. Damn, that bite is hurt like hell! That puppy's teeth are as sharp as the bulldog's teeth. The children are laughing at him except Petra that got worried about him.

A sweet girl ran to approach him and check his hand after he got a bite from the puppy. "Are you ok, Naruto? I'm so sorry!" She worried.

"It's ok, Petra. A puppy can be overprotective of the owner." The blond man smiled as he ruffled her head gently and made her smile. He looked at his left hand, but damn! His hand is bleeding a lot.

Then, Naruto looked at the damn puppy that bit his hand. It is still growling at him, but why? He didn't do anything to that animal, but at that moment…his eyes have changed. They're glaring at the puppy with anger and seriousness because he started to know something. And that girl with blue hair…seems very suspicious to him.

Why does he look so serious about them? What are they? For some reasons why because he felt negative emotion from-

"Naruto-kun, are you ok?"

That voice snapped his mind out as he looked at blue-haired maiden who called him. "Y-Yeah, I'm ok." He said.

"Your hand…" Rem said as she looked at his left hand with blood.

"Oh no! I'm fine-ttabayo!" He said, waving his right hand to her. Of course, his left hand can heal itself because Kurama is inside of him. Also, it's fast healing.

"We should go home now. I'm done shopping." She said.

Naruto nodded as he turned around to the children and delivered them a waving hand to say goodbye. It's nice to meet the children and villagers because they are nice people. But, they don't like Emilia because she's a half-elf and Witch of Frost which he doesn't like. Hopefully, someday, he can change their mind and show their respect to her.

"You were quite popular with them." Rem said.

"For some reason, kids have always liked me." Naruto said as he looked at the barrel that Rem holding. "Let me help you."

"That's not necessary, Naruto-kun. I can handle it on my own." Rem said.

"Come on. I've been helping a lot of people." Naruto said as he lifted the barrel upon his shoulder.

"Alright, Naruto-kun." Rem nodded.

The blue-haired maid and the blond shinobi walked together in silence, only hear the sounds of the breezing wind and animals. Coming to the village from the mansion wasn't too far; it took them around twenty or thirty minutes by foot.

_"What's this feeling? I feel danger…."_ Naruto thought as he glanced back to the village. The puppy… The girl… Both of them got him very suspicious of them. Was it just his imagination?

He looked at the bite mark on his left hand, but it already healed. There's something strange about the bite mark from the puppy. He can feel unfamiliar aura on his hand.

"Do you guys sense something?" He thought as he looked at Bijuus.

**"Yeah, we sensed something from your left hand." Kurama said.**

**"Do that when you two get the mansion first." Matatabi said.**

* * *

"Naruto-kun, thank you for helping me." Rem said as two of them have arrived mansion.

"It's no big deal. If you need helps, let me know. I'm always opened." Naruto said before he saw Roswaal dressing in a black tuxedo. "Roswaal, you're going somewhere?"

"Just for a while. I received a troublesome message you see. I'm going to the vicinity of Garfiel's place to verify it. Either way, it feels suspicious…" The clown said. "I don't think I'll able to return tonight. Rem. Ram. I'll leave things to you."

Naruto blinked his eyes with surprised at Roswaal's dress and leaving the mansion. He didn't leave the mansion from the future, but right now…he's leaving. Did the future mess up? Or was it just his imagination?

"I'll also be counting on you, Naruto-kun." Roswaal said as he walked passed him and patted on his shoulder. "Take good care of Emilia-sama."

"Sure, no problem." Naruto said with a smile.

"Good!" The clown said as he started to fly up into the air. "Then, look after things while I'm away!"

The three watched Roswaal flies away from here to the place where he supposed to meet him. After he left, Rem and Ram walked back inside the mansion. But, they stopped and noticed Naruto stills outside.

"Naruto-kun. Are you coming?" The blue-haired girl asked.

"Yeah, I'm coming!" Naruto replied as he went inside the mansion while carrying the barrel. What interesting magic that Roswaal had. "So, where do you want me to put?"

"I want you to put it in the kitchen. Can you help us to cook dinner, Naruto?" Ram asked.

"Sure, no problem-ttabayo!" Naruto said as he still carried the barrel and brought it to the kitchen. He placed it on the ground, but he looked at his left hand.

He stared at the bite mark from a puppy, unsure of it. He sensed an aura around his hand, but it's a bad one. A very bad one. In the village, he felt negative emotions from the puppy and the girl with blue hair. If he was correct, that girl's not here to live in the village. She probably targets someone else.

Things are getting serious and he doesn't like this, but he had a plan. He left the kitchen, leaving his work without telling everyone. Except he didn't notice that Emilia found him first as she walked in the hallway and watched him leaves.

"Naruto?" The silver-haired girl wondered as she started to follow him. Following him without alert was wrong, but something isn't wrong about him.

Emilia gazed at Naruto outside from hiding behind the door. She knows something wasn't right about him today when Naruto and Rem came back from the village. Her eyes are narrowed to look at him closer.

Outside, Naruto closed his eyes and concentrated his chakra for his left arm. His left arm glowed in yellow chakra as he borrowed Kurama's chakra to use it. _"What is this?"_ He thought as he saw the strange black cloud appeared around his left hand.

The black cloud doesn't look so good to him. He didn't like it and had a bad feeling. It'll be better to tell Rem and Ram that the village is in trouble except for Emilia. She mustn't know about this because he figured it out she's the main target.

**"The black cloud? That must be from the puppy." Kurama said**

The blond shinobi nodded, but he glanced back when he heard a voice from behind the door. "Emilia?" He surprised as the girl ran toward him without any second thoughts.

"Naruto, y-you're cursed!" She said as she looked at his left hand, but why his arm is yellow?

"Cursed?" He asked.

"Yes, you're cursed!" Emilia yelled with a worried look as she looked over his hand with a black cloud. "A-Are you ok? Does it hurt?"

"Wait, don't! I can rid of it!" Naruto said as he stopped her before telling Beatrice. He managed to stop her from telling and she turned around to look at him. "Just watch, ok?"

The silver-haired girl stayed and watched him how he does. Naruto simply crushed the black cloud as he fisted and made it disappeared. That was easy to break it and find out he has a curse. Now then, he should probably go back to the village and check out see what happened.

Emilia was surprised that he could dispel the curse on his own without Beatrice's help. "Naruto, how did you get the curse?" She asked as he powered his yellow mana down.

"I'm impressed you detected it and broke the curse without me-kashira." Beatrice said as she came from the backdoor, surprising Naruto and Emilia as they looked at her. She only looked at Naruto that broke the curse himself. "The curse came from Mabeast calls Wolgarm. They can able to cast the curse on humans."

"Then, the Wolgarm is…" Naruto said as he realized who puppy was. He clenched his teeth as he ran back in the mansion and Emilia followed him.

He went into his room and grabbed his weapon pouch. He knew the puppy and the girl is enemies. He shouldn't have stopped them from the first place, but there was no way how can he explains the villagers.

"Naruto, what are you doing?" Emilia asked as she's in his room.

"I'm going back. The village is in trouble now. It could be too late." He said as he gathered all of weapons and turned around to Emilia. "Emilia, I want you to stay here and never come outside until I come back. Warn Rem and Ram that I'll be gone.

"It's too dangerous for you to go alone!" Emilia said as she held his hand from getting out. "If the beast can cast a curse, it probably has a pack with it. I can help you."

"I'll be fine. Trust me. I fought the beasts in the past." He said with a smile as he patted on her head. "Don't worry about me. There's no way I can lose to them-ttabayo. I promise."

"Then, I will send Rem to go with you."

Naruto and Emilia turned around together as they saw the two maidens who stood out of a room. They must have heard everything from them or Beatrice.

"Rem? Ram? You know everything?" The shinobi asked.

"Yes, Beatrice told us everything." Ram said. "I know you can do this on your own, but I cannot allow you to go alone."

"I… fine." Naruto accepted as he looked at Emilia. "Since Rem is with me, we'll be back. I promise."

The silver-haired closed her eyes in seconds and sighed in defeated. "Ok, Naruto. I won't stop. It's probably no use telling you not to be rash or reckless, too, right?" She asked.

"Well, I can't say I'm with both of them, but I'll try my best not to do any of them." He said

Emilia smiled at him as she closed her eyes and placed her hand on his chest where the heart was. "May the blessing of the spirits be with you." She prayed.

"What was that mean?"

"It's a good luck prayer. It means to come back safely."

"Thank you, Emilia. I will come back safely."

* * *

"Ok, we're here."

"Ram will be mad and report to Emilia for holding me."

"This isn't sexual harassment. I have to carry you because I can run fast. I'm afraid that you will slow me down."

Naruto and Rem have arrived in the village. Instead of running together, Naruto had to carry her and used his pure speed to get there fast. It's only took them the few seconds.

Rem was very amazed how fast his speed is from mansion to here. Maybe, she underestimated him and his speed. Naruto has a lot of mana. She knew he wasn't just a human because he protected Emilia and fought a vampire Elsa. He's strong and fast.

She hates admitting between Naruto and Roswaal, but there could be a possible that Naruto can win against him. Naruto hasn't showed his true power yet and could defeat him on one on one.

"Hey, did something happen?!"

His voice and snapped the blue-haired maid from her thought. She saw everyone holding torches and searching around in the village.

"Yeah, several of the village children have gone missing. All the adults are looking for them." The villager said.

"Where could they be?" Rem asked as she looked at Naruto. "Do you know?"

"Yeah, I think I know where they are." Naruto said as he looked at the long path and ran on that path. "Rem, follow me! And you get everyone and follow on this path!"

"Yes, sir!"

"Naruto, how did you know that?" Rem asked.

"One of the children told me to follow them and the one girl showed me the puppy. When I got bite by the puppy, I felt negative emotion from it and the girl."

"The girl?"

"Yeah, the girl. She has negative emotion, too. It seems like she's not here to live with village. I think she's here to assassinate Emilia."

Rem's eyes widened with shocked. "Th-That's impossible." She said.

"Hate to say this, but it's true. If I told her to leave the village, the villagers probably will think I'm evil for attacking the child."

"I see."

The two have stopped when they're here at the fence where the children were. Rem began to look around and search for the glowing light stone which is for protecting the village. She found it when she pointed her finger at the stone without a light.

"The barrier has been broken." She said.

"Then, that means demon beasts can go through it."

"Yes, that's correct-Naruto, what are you doing?!" Rem asked as she saw Naruto jumped over fence and almost entering the forest.

"What do you think? I'm going to save the children."

"Wait! You can't make that decision on your own. With Roswaal-sama away from home, can you be sure that this isn't a ruse to divert attention from the mansion?"

"Then, you stay here with villagers and guard them. I have no problem going by myself. I can't just ignore children because they have a dream." Naruto said.

"A dream?" Rem said

"Yeah, they told me about their dream what they want to be. These children are special and will make their dream come true." Naruto said as he began to walk in the forest, but he turned around to look at Rem. "Those who break the rules are scum, but those who abandon their friends are worse than scum."

Those eyes on his face aren't joking. This man isn't kidding around. His eyes are filled with anger, determine, and fearless. He's willing to save the children with his life.

"Very well. My orders were to keep an eye on you." She said as she walked toward and jumped over the fence.

"Then, let's go…" Naruto paused as he saw a weapon flail in her hands… what the fuck! Where the hell did that come from?!

"What's wrong, Naruto-kun?"

...

"Nothing."

Naruto and Rem went in the forest, searching for the children who have been missing. The children can't be far away from because two can sense their aura nearby here. They moved to the left and headed straight.

"The kids!" Naruto said as they found the children up on the hill. When they got up of the hill, the children are fine, but they're not feeling too good.

The children have a bite mark on their legs, arms, and shoulders. They all have the curse from the demon beast.

"I can't dispel curse, however, I can cast a healing spell to comfort-" Rem shocked as she watched Naruto doing some of strange magic she ever seen. His right arm is glow yellow and his back, too.

He held one of children's arm to lift the curse up, surprising he got the curse out and crushed it with his hand. The multiple of yellow glowing arms seemed to come from his back and they reached out for other children. They broke the curse easily like he had no problem with it. The curses are all gone from them. Naruto dispelled the curse for them.

Rem was shocked at his magic for dispelling the curses for children. Those yellow glowing arms are almost identical to witches, but they're different. They're not like them. She felt the warm feeling from them and Naruto's mana.

What is he? What kind of magic is that?

"Naruto, what kind of magic is that?" She asked.

"I'll explain later after we rescue those children." Naruto said before he heard Lucas's voice as he looked down at him. "Lucas?"

"P-Petra still… in the…"

Then, the blond shinobi widened his eyes with shock and remembered Petra. "No, Petra!" He said as he's going to find her, but he was stopped by Rem.

"Please be careful." She said.

"Right!"

* * *

"I'm coming, Petra! I'm coming!" Naruto said as he ran in the deep forest. He followed Petra's aura and she shouldn't be too far from him.

So, a girl with blue hair took Petra in the deeper forest and forced anyone to rescue her. He knows it's a trap, but he stills going in and want to save Petra no matt what. He never abandoned the people. Good thing that Rem stayed with the children because the villagers are on their way to save the children.

Rem warned him if he goes deeper, he'll be lost in here. However, that's no problem for him because he can go back by following Rem's aura and come back to the village. The shinobi already unsheathed the kunai in his hand, just in case if the demon beasts attack him.

**"You know you couldn't have killed her and puppy from the first place." Kurama said.**

_"I'm not like that, Kurama. If I killed her, they will hate me for that."_

**"So, the puppy can cast the curse, but I don't buy that isn't just a puny. Be ready for it."**

Naruto nodded until he reached his destination and stopped behind the bushes to hide it. He found Petra lying on the ground by the log. He didn't detect any demon beasts, but he can feel they're waiting for him.

So, he walked out of the bushes and stayed cautious of ambush attacks. As he approached Petra, he had to check her if she has a bite mark on him and yes she has. Before he was going to dispel the curse, but he heard a growling noise from behind him as he glanced back.

He found a demon beast. The demon beast has black fur, a salivating mouth with razor-sharp teeth, red eyes, and looks like a wolf. That beast must be Wolgarm who cast the curse to people. That dog doesn't seem to be a tough one.

Naruto gripped the kunai before Wolgarm started to charge him. His eyes were tightened with serious as he grabbed the body and slammed it into the thick branch on his left. Then, he finished the wolf off by stabbing in its brain. But, this isn't over yet because there's another one suddenly attacks him from behind. The blond shinobi turned around and threw the kunai at the chest. He delivered a round-house kick to the head.

This situation isn't a good place for him to stay because Petra is stills here. He grabbed her body up, getting out of here before more will come, but it was too late. A pack of Wolgarm came from the forest, growling at the boy with hungry eyes.

Naruto can take all of them down, but he doesn't have much time because of Petra's curse. In that case, he summoned the clones to assist him to fight the wolves. They can buy him more time for his escape and head back to the village. The battle has already started.

"Go, boss! We handle this!" The clone said as he and the others attacked them.

The real Naruto nodded as he began to retreat to the village while the clones fighting for him. He dashed through the forest as he can before Petra will die from her curse. Hopefully, the barrier was fixed already.

_"Two clones are down."_ Naruto thought as he felt his clones died in the battle, however, some of them are still alive.

Wait! Where are the girl and the puppy? They haven't been spotted yet before he rescued Petra.

The howling interrupted his thought as he looked to his right and saw Wolgarm attacks him. He unsheathed another kunai to attack, but an unknown flail killed that creature for him.

"Rem, is that you?" Naruto asked.

"Yes, it's me. The children have been safely returned to the village. Thank you for buying time." Rem said as she noticed Petra is in his arms. "You found Petra, but where's the other girl?"

"I don't know where she was, but I have a bad feeling about this-" Naruto paused as he sensed his clones are dead. All of them are dead, so that means the pack of Wolfgarm is on their way. "We have to go back to the village. Right now!"

"Yes, Naruto-kun. Follow me!" Rem said as both of them have to head back to the village. The pack of Wolfgarm is coming for them.

The two are on their run to the village because they're outnumbered. With many of Wolfgarm, they have no chance to kill all of them except Naruto, He can defeat all of them on his own, but he cannot fight while carrying Petra with him. Also, he needs to find the girl and the damn puppy because she can break the barrier.

The strategy was easy because Naruto can still fight demon beasts whenever in front of him while carrying Petra. Rem is right behind him, making sure no Wolfgarm attack his back. But, they kept coming and attacking, not letting them back to the village. They are everywhere.

"If you see the bonfire, you almost there!" Rem said as she swung flail to two of Wolfgarm and split them in the half with a chain.

Naruto listened and kept running until he finds the bonfire; however, he found it already at the village. He can see it from here to there. "We're almost to the barrier!" He said before he reacted in shock when he saw Rem came out from the bush.

A couple of blood is on her skirt and her right sleeve, revealing her skin which means she got hurt by couple of Wolfgarms. Rem must have fought them off on her own, protecting Naruto while he carried Petra.

"Rem, are you-" The blond man interrupted as she pushed him away from her before a river hit her from nowhere. His eyes are widened in horror and shock that Rem saved both of them. "REM!"

Without second thoughts, Naruto summoned a clone and ordered him to take Petra to the village. He's going back to save Rem and protect her from the Wolfgarms. However, he found the damn puppy on the hill that used magic to hurt Rem.

He was going to kill for it, but he sensed familiar aura from behind him. A sense of disturbance and sinister as the blond shinobi turned around to see and found Rem who had those auras. She's alive, but something changed her. A horn grew from her forehead with pink small lighting.

"Rem?" He asked as he heard her manic laughing, but he ducked down when the flail almost hit him from her. She attacked him without a single thought, but she killed a bunch of Wolfgarm.

"Demon beast! Demon beast! Demon beast! Demon beast! Witch!" She said insanely as she continued to kill more of them.

_"No way… This is her oni form."_ Naruto thought with a shock, watching her how she kills the demon beasts. Her fighting style is so raw and wild. This isn't herself.

So, this is her oni form that allows her to transform into oni and gives her strength. The way how she fights is wild and out of control because she has gone berserk. If this keeps up like that, she will destroy everything and hurt herself. Rem needs to stop or else things are gone bad. Really bad!

"Rem, stop! You're hurting yourself!" Naruto yelled.

Rem heard his voice as she turned around to him and attacked him without second thoughts. The blond shinobi clenched his teeth as he had to dodge her attack before it hits him. It seemed like she isn't listening to him because she's out of control. Still though, he needs to stop her no matter what! He glanced to the right when he saw the puppy used magic on him.

The ground is crumbled and exploded on him, but he dodged the explosive with pure speed. He then slashed the group of Wolfgram one by one first, so it'll be him and Rem without getting interrupted. When Naruto killed the last one, he went back to fight Rem in berserker mode or oni mode.

What can he do to stop her? All he can do is dodging her attacks without hurting her, but there has to be another way to stop her.

**"Naruto, try to hit her horn. If you hit her horn, it will bring her back to normal." Chomei said.**

_"Will that work?"_

**"Trust me!"**

Naruto doesn't want to hurt Rem's horn, but he had no choice to try it. It's his only opinion to stop her and bring her back to normal. So, the shinobi decided to follow his plan and began to charge her. He saw Rem swung the Morningstar to him, but he sidestepped the attack on the right. However, the spiky ball scratched his jacket off a little.

He saw the chain throws out at him, so he grabbed on it and pulled to force Rem comes toward him. But, she let go of her weapon and Naruto threw the weapon away from her. Rem rushed in front of him and tried to punch blond, but he dodged her attack. He grabbed her fist and reached his fist toward her horn. Hopefully, that would make her back to normal.

"Forgive me, Rem!"

* * *

Rem felt something warm in her body and being carried by someone. She slowly opened her blue eyes and reacted with shock when she saw what carried her. It's Naruto who carried her body, hiding behind the bushes and tree.

"Naruto-kun…" She said softly as the shinobi looked down at her with a smile.

"You're awake, Rem." He said as he brushed her hair aside, checking to see if she has a scar underneath. Her horn is gone and she's back on control. "Good. You're alright."

The blue-haired maiden blinked her eyes at him and got blush when he did that. But, she looked at his body. His clothes were damaged and ripped, showing his skin. "A-Are you ok?" She asked nervously as she remembered she attacked him when she went in oni mode.

"I'm ok, Rem." Naruto smiled.

"Why… Why didn't you just leave alone? For you to show up makes it all pointless. I have to do it by myself. No one else needs to get hurt anymore…"

"I can't leave you behind-ttabayo. To tell you a truth, you did try to kill me and damaged my favorite clothes."

"It's… It's my fault. So, I have to take responsibility. If I don't, I cannot do anything for you…" She said as she started to flow tears from her eyes and grasped his shirt. "I haven't changed at all. I committed the same sin as I did back then! I… I almost killed you. You nearly died."

Naruto sighed with eyes close in seconds as he looked down at her face. "Rem." He said.

"Yes?" Rem asked as she moved her head up slowly.

"Idiot." Naruto answered as he poked his finger on her forehead and she held her forehead. "Those who break the rules are scum, but those who abandon their friends are worse than scum. My teacher once told me this and wanted me to remember them. And, Rem…"

"Yes-" Rem gasped as he wiped her tears on the face. His hand is so warm and nice that it melts her icy heart into a warm heart.

"This isn't your fault, Rem. Not to me. I don't know what happened between you and Ram in the past, but let me tell you what I know. You're not useless and didn't commit anything. You're kind, hardworking, cute, always do you best, and special person." Naruto said as he lifted her chain up by fingers. "Your sister doesn't want you to be sad, so her wish is to make you happy. So get those stupid thoughts out of your head and stop blaming yourself. Rem, I care about you and I won't leave you behind. No matter what I'll save you from your darkness."

"Naruto-kun…" Rem said before she heard branch cracking.

Naruto sensed Wolfgram's aura, but there's a couple of them. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu." He said quietly as he summoned a clone and gave Rem to him.

"You got it, boss."

"Wait! There's no way you will survive. Please don't. If you do that-" Rem paused as Naruto stroke his hand in her hair gently.

"Don't worry. I'm a shinobi who never give up and never break the promise." Naruto smiled. "You're my friend. I promise you that I will come back alive-ttabayo."

Rem stared at his azure eyes and his facial expression in astonishment. She can't help it, but blushed for seeing Naruto's handsome face.

"Take care of her." Naruto said

"I will. Good luck, boss!" The clone said.

Then, Naruto and his clone got split up. The clone carried Rem to the village. Real Naruto will fight the alpha of the pack.

Naruto saw the other Wolfgrams are on both sides as he grabbed the scroll from his pouch. He opened the scroll as he spun around himself, shooting hundreds of kunai at them. It killed a lot of them as Naruto heard whimpering from them and saw the dead bodies. Those small Wolfgrams are so easy to kill.

Since he killed all of them that are in his way, the puppy is the last one. He was going to kill for it, but the puppy suddenly transformed into a big Wolfgram. It's bigger than him and the other Wolfgram.

"So, this is your true form. Alright then!" Naruto said as he gripped the kunai and glared at the big Wolfgram.

The big wolf roared at Naruto as it began to attack him with the claw. He evaded that attack by sidestep as he rushed and slid underneath the body to slash the legs. Cutting the legs, it made a big beast demon goes on the ground. However, this one is very stubborn as it roared in anger at Naruto.

Rem watched Naruto with horror expression from the back while being carry by the clone. "Wait! Naruto-kun is… Naruto-kun…" She said.

"Don't worry about him. My boss isn't kind of a person who won't lose and break the promises. Believe in him, Rem." The clone said.

The blue-haired maiden kept watching Naruto fights big Wolfgram on his own. He fought that creature with his life to protect her. His words. His promises. Those things are in her mind and her heart. She can't stop thinking about Naruto.

"Naruto-kun!" She cried as she shook her body and made the clone falls down on the ground. She turned around to look at Naruto fighting Wolfgram. "Naruto-kun!"

Naruto smiled when he heard Rem cries out his name. Well, he can't waste his times or else Rem will cry again. "Sorry, boy. Guess I have to destroy you right now!" He smirked as he crossed his fingers and the large white popped up.

The big Wolfgarm can't see him in the white smoke, so it tried to attack him with claw by smashing it. It didn't catch or kill him yet because it can't see it. In the seconds, the white smoke is gone until its red eyes widened in shocked what it saw.

"Tajuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu)!" Naruto and his army yelled at the same time. How many clones did he create? It was more than hundreds.

The massive beast stepped back, but it roared with anger at them as Naruto and the clones started to charge at it together. They saw the beast uses the claw to attack them as they dodged the attack by sliding underneath. All of them were smirked as they planned to use the signature move on Wolfgarm that won't survive at this.

Some of the clones kicked the massive beast up into the air while yelling "U-ZU-MA-KI". Once the beast is airborne, the one thousands of clones himself punched it from every direction with their combining two thousand fists The two clones joined together to deliver a final blow: a simultaneous punch from the left and right.

"Naruto Nisen Rendan (Naruto 2K Uzumaki Barrage)!" They yelled as they punched the hell of a massive beast and it fell into the ground too hard. They can see the beast got beat up really bad by their punches and kicks. The body can't move because they broke everything of bones.

Then, the clones smirked before they dispelled themselves, but it wasn't over yet. The real Naruto is still in the air, gathering the large chakra on his right hand to perform the final attack.

"Oh, you think I'm done because I'm not done yet! Gotta make sure you are dead!" Naruto said as he formed a Rasengan on his hand and made it bigger with a large chakra. "Ōdama Rasengan (Giant Rasengan)!"

He smashed Wolfgram into the body and destroyed entirely. The clone got up quick and guarded Rem before a big blast them. Both of them held each other tight as the strong wind and explosive wave kept going, but now, it has stopped. The two lets go of each other and the clone lifted Rem up to stand up.

They walked toward the smoke to see what happened except the clone that knows already. The smoke was cleared as they went through. Rem was really shocked to see dead Wolfgram. All of the body is apart away.

But, where's Naruto? Rem needs to see him if he's alive, but she found him already.

"Rem, I-" Naruto was nearly knocked over as he was hugged by Rem. He gladly returned the hug as his arms wrapped her body.

"You're alive… You stayed alive… Naruto-kun! Naruto-kun! Naruto-kun!" She cried as she buried her face into his chest, never letting him go.

"I'm ok, Rem. I'm ok." Naruto said as he looked at her crying face and wiped the tears with his thumbs. Then, Rem looked at him when he cleaned her tears.

Without a saying word, Rem nodded and still hugged him. She doesn't want to let go of him because she thought he was going to die. She was so scared that she'll lose him. No matter what she tried to stop her crying, but her tears kept flowing. They won't stop.


	7. Chapter 7

_The little girl with blue hair was in the forest in the nighttime, gathering the plant alone. Sadly, she didn't find any plants in the place._

_"That's enough, Rem. I'm just happy both of you are all right." The woman said._

_Rem turned around to see her mom, but she didn't realize it was her._

_"Yes, we're so glad you're both safe." The man said._

_The little blue-haired girl smiled at her parents until she saw another person came between her parents. She was going to greet him, but there was something wrong with him._

_"No, it would have been better if only Ram had been safe."_

_"That's right."_

_"You said it."_

_Then, everyone was here in the forest. They're all looking at Rem with their dark look expression. No emotion._

_"Yes, if only that useless Rem had died…"_

_"It would have been best if only Ram had lived."_

_Rem covered her ears and closed her eyes to ignore them. But, she kept hearing the ghostly voice in her head. The voices are terrible and nightmare. They forced her to be dead._

_Her eyes were tears with fear and pain. Rem doesn't want to hear it anymore. She's too scared. She needs a help to forget the voices from her head. Someone must do something for her before the fear overcomes her._

_Suddenly, a miracle of light shined Rem and banished the ghosts from her. The voices are gone now, so she opened her eyes and looked at the new place with shock expression on her face. She's in the sky so high and can see the clouds. She felt so nice to be in the sky, but she found another feeling._

_It was so warm, but she noticed someone is carrying her which is how she got into the sky._

_"Do you like it?"_

_The little girl heard a gentle voice from the male as she looked it up at him. She met angel with a yellow coat and had a gentle smile on his face._

Suddenly, Rem woke up from the dream. She doesn't remember that one because she had the same nightmare before. It was different dream that she never had that before.

"What was…this dream?" She asked as she held the pillow tightens. This dream… This dream was kinda nice.

* * *

"Man, this is my favorite jacket." Naruto said sadly as he looked at his damaged black-orange jacket. Rem in oni mode managed to damage his clothes with the Morningstar.

The blue-haired maid was strong in oni mode because he saw her destroyed a lot of demon beasts. But, the problem is she can't control that mode very well. Her fighting style is so raw and wild. Her personality has changed into crazy or psycho. She was a cold-killer because she tried to kill Naruto. However, the good news is he found a way to stop her by hitting her horn.

After the battle was over, Naruto brought Rem to the mansion and told her sister to take care of her. The things are alright, but he had to go back to the village to search for a little girl with blue hair who brought Wolfgarm in puppy form in the village. Unfortunately, he didn't find her because she's already escaped. Though, she won't come back again.

*Knock! Knock!*

Naruto paused his thoughts as he turned to the door when he heard. He walked toward the door and opened it for a person who knocked on it. "Rem?" He blinked in slight surprise as he found the blue-haired maid stands in front of his room.

"Morning, Naruto…"

Her voice was very low and soft. She usually says it with a normal voice when she greets him, but her voice has changed. Her facial expression isn't so happy after the battle from last is over. Without asking a question, he slowly opened the door wider.

"Come in." Naruto said as he stepped aside for her. Rem didn't nod or say anything as she entered his room. "Rem, is there something wrong?"

Rem didn't answer him as she passed him and he closed the door. She then ran towards him and grabbed his hand without hesitation. "Are you… Are you mad?" She asked with a guilt face as she looked at him.

"What? No, I'm not mad at you." He replied as he looked at her hands hold his hand. They're shaking with pain and sorrow.

"I'm sorry for hurting you, Naruto-kun."

"Hey, hey, that's alright. My body feels fine and you didn't hurt me. It's no big deal."

"I understand…the situation that I am a powerless and incompetent demon clan dropout. This is why I cannot reach my sister's level. I am just a failed substitute." Rem said as she started to release the tears from her eyes. "Why was I one who kept her horn? Why was my sister the one to lose her horn? Why did my sister only have one? Why did we have to be twins?"

"Well, Rem, you keep putting Ram on a pedestal and undermining yourself, but if she were your position, I don't think she'd be any better off. In reality, she is weaker than you, she can't cook, slacks off on the job, says mean things."

"Y-You're wrong. You wouldn't say that if she still had her horn…"

"But Ram doesn't have her horn, so I don't know about her." Naruto said as he lifted her chin up and wiped her tears with a thumb. "You are kind, hardworking, always do your best, and your breasts are bigger than hers!"

Then, Rem got blushed and huffed when he said her breasts are bigger than her sister's. Naruto had no idea why in the hell did he say that to her. It's true her breasts are bigger than Ram's breasts. Damn… someone is watching him. He felt like Jiraiya is watching him from heaven.

"B-But… I have always just been a substitute for my sister…" Rem said as she looked down, but a hand stopped her from looking down as she stared at Naruto.

These feelings what she got from him... she felt so warm in her heart and cannot stop looking at him.

"Stop saying to yourself that way. It's sad and hurts my heart. Failing doesn't give you a reason to give up as long as you believe." He said as he saw her tears kept flowing, so he wiped them again. This girl… "All you have to is be the horn Ram doesn't have. So you two can be a demon together. It doesn't have to be like that kind of sad things, Rem."

"B-But-"

"No but, Rem. Do you remember what I say from yesterday? I'm going to come after all that hate inside them as well so someday. I want to be friends with demons. They have a heart and they can make you laugh." Naruto said. "Laugh and smile, Rem! Take off that sad face!"

"I'm not strong like you. I am…very weak."

"You are strong because you have people to protect."

Rem's eyes widened with shock as she looked at Naruto. This man showed his true nature of happiness and reality to her.

"You are strong because you have people to protect." Naruto repeated with a smile. "When people are protecting something truly special to them, they truly can become as strong as they can be. One day, I promise you that if you protecting something truly special to you, you can become as strong as I can be. As we keep moving forward, I promise we can lean on each other again! Let's laugh and smile together!"

"A promise?" Rem asked.

"Yep, that's right! I won't break a promise. I won't run away anymore. I won't go back on my word." The blond shinobi said as he fisted himself on his heart. "That is my ninja way!"

The warmth of his words shines her body and her heart. She smiled and can't stop her tears anymore as she began to hug him, wrapping her arms around his waist and never let go of him. This feeling is so nice and warm to her. She felt she was being protected by this blond human.

Her eyes widened with surprise when Naruto's arms wrapped her body and hugged her back. However, she closed her eyes and enjoyed his embrace.

"Naruto."

"Yeah?"

"Promise?"

"I never break the promise. I promise."

This man is the one who warms her heart from the cold.

* * *

"How was your feeling, Naruto? You fought Rem in Oni mode and fought the big Wolgarm." Emilia asked.

"I'm ok. I have a healing factor, remember?" Naruto reminded her.

Emilia remembered that Naruto can heal himself from 4 days ago. He got cut on his cheek from Elsa's blade, but it healed itself instantly for him. It was true that Naruto defeated Elsa because he's strong, but when he went into the forest to save children with Rem, it worried her.

Truthfully, she almost went after him to help him to save the children, but Puck told her not to be worry and Naruto told her, too. Both of them were right, but leaving Naruto alone and do on his own isn't her thing. She just didn't want him to get hurt. Emilia almost forgot that Rem went with him and helped him to find the children.

Anyways, they came back alive and rescued the children from the forest. Maybe, she needs to calm down and stop worry about Naruto.

Emilia closed her eyes and sighed with a smile. "You've saved us again." She said.

"Eh?" Naruto asked as he looked at her.

"Even though I brought you to the mansion to reward you for saving me, instead, you've gone and saved us again." Emilia said with a smile as she turned around to him. "Thank you so much."

"Hey, hey! It's fine-ttabayo!

"I-I wouldn't be able to stop feeling indebted if I don't reward you."

There she goes again. She showed her cute expression to Naruto when he said: "It's fine". Whatever he tried to say he doesn't want the reward from her, she's going to keep saying that to him again. He usually doesn't take rewards from everyone because he did it for free.

"Usually, I don't take a reward, but let me think about it." He said as he noticed her glares at him. He knew that would anger her.

"What is that supposed to mean?!" Emilia asked as she walked in front of him and stopped him.

"It means you have to wait until I will give you an answer."

"Naruto, this is serious. I want to give you a reward, but you don't know what you want?"

Honestly, yeah he doesn't know what kind of rewards he wants. "No?" He asked honestly as he poked his fingers to her forehead.

"That's hurt-ttabayo…" She said as she used that catchphrase from Naruto.

"Sorry, but you have to wait until I know what I want." He said

"Fine." Emilia said as she crossed her arms and gave him a disappointed look. Damn him! He flicked and poked on her forehead! That is not so nice of him for doing that to her.

"Anyways, how was your studies? Getting better?" He asked.

"Way better than before. It's all thanks to your advice that helped me to understand especially your book." She said.

"My book?"

Emilia placed her hands on the heart. "Yes, your teacher is special and inspires me to do the right thing. It understands me war, conflict, and hatred that occupies the world. Also, thank you and your teacher. I want to respect both of you." She smiled.

"Thank you, Emilia." He said with a smile as he looked it up at the sky. It felt nice to learn that Emilia enjoys Jiraiya's book and respects him.

The half-elf and the shinobi blond walked together while talking at each other. They're on their way to the village to visit the children after they were cured. The children should be awakening today. Before visiting the village, Naruto noticed Emilia put the hood on with two pointed ears. She wore a white cloak.

Back from the capital where he first met her, she didn't wear a cloak with her. Now, she wore a white cloak before they're going to visit the village.

"Emilia, why did you put your hood on?" Naruto asked.

"Oh… I didn't tell you that… The reason why I wore this because they scared to see me as a half-elf… I have to put on my hood, so they won't see my presence." Emilia said as she looked away from him. Wearing the hood in front of him, she was embarrassed because she didn't tell him.

"Emilia."

The half-elf looked it up at him as she stopped when he stopped. His voice changed a soft tone. He showed his worry expression to her when he found out why she brought the cloak. His blue eyes turned into sad and hurt. Emilia had to wear a hood for every village and capital every day. Seeing her hood on, it was heartbreaking to see her like that and how people treat her.

It was his first time seeing her wear a hood for village and capital because of her appearance of half-elf and Satella, the Witch of Envy. Humans don't like her for being here.

"I-I'm so sorry for not telling you… I… I didn't want to ruin your day-" Emilia gasped with a blush as she felt the warm feeling on her cheeks. His hands aren't touching her, but her hood seems to pull down to reveal her beautiful face.

She wants to stop him from pulling her hood down, but she didn't stop him. She let him pulled the hood, so she can see his face. Her eyes are focusing on his azure eyes. They're beautiful with great emotions.

"Emilia, did you forget the promise?"

Her eyes are widened with shock she heard the familiar word before. She remembered the promise Naruto made that he won't let the humans' hatred get into her mind and her heart. He didn't forget about that promise because he never broke it.

"No matter what people think of you. No matter what anyone says about you. No matter what you think of yourself, I will always stay right beside you. If they say bad things about you, I won't let their hatred get into your mind and your heart. If there is a thing such as peace, I will find the answer. So I won't give up." Naruto said as he saw Emilia's tears from her eyes hearing his promise. He wiped them away with his hands. "I want you to be happy for me and Puck."

"Naruto…" Emilia said softly as she grabbed his before it's moving away from her. She held his hand for one time because she wanted to feel the warm feeling from him. Naruto was her guardian angel and never forget the promise. What is this feeling? Why does he have everything?"

"Emilia?"

The silver-haired girl blushed as she lets go of his hand quickly and turned away from him. "I-It's nothing! Shall we keep going?" She asked.

"Right." Naruto said.

They finally arrived in the village to check things how it going. Everyone seemed alright after what happened from the night, but they're on patrol.

"By the way, have you found the girl yet?" Emilia asked.

"No, I didn't find her because she already escaped before I came back." Naruto said.

"Naruto! Naruto!"

Both of them looked at the direction where the voice was until a group of children jumped into Naruto. He fell on the ground as he received a group hug from them. They're all right and healthy well. Emilia giggled at him and the children while watching them. Those kids love Naruto.

"Hey, kids. Miss me?" Naruto asked.

"Yeah!"

"Thank you for saving us!"

"You really are the hero!"

"They like you." Emilia said as she watched Naruto gets up from the ground after the children got off him.

"You have no idea." He said.

"Emilia-sama!"

The two heard someone calling her name as they turned to the old lady. Her name is Milde Irlam, the Chief of the Irlam Village. She approached them, only looking at Emilia. The silver-haired girl was nervous, but Naruto is right beside her. So, she needs to face her fear on her own.

"Thank you for saving the children." Milde said as she bowed to Emilia which made her confuse about that.

"Eh? I-I didn't do anything." She said.

"It was because your new friend rescued the children. He told me all about you." Milde said as she looked at Naruto and Emilia. However, she continued to look at Emilia. "Emilia-sama, I would like to apologize about how my people give you bad treatment."

"It's ok." She said with a slight smile before she saw the group of villagers who came here. Then, they bowed to her.

"Thank you so much!"

"H-Hey, there's no need to thank me." She protested.

"If it weren't for you and your new friend, children would have been gone forever!"

"We're sorry, Emilia-sama!"

The half-elf widened her eyes with shock and cannot believe they apologized to her. They showed their respect for her because she saved the children. She didn't do anything because it was her friend Naruto who saved them. However, the villagers were telling both of them.

She remembered what Naruto told her about her dream to become King. She never forgets that and never gives up. Facing her fear was hard, but she faced it. Now, the villagers respect to her. She won't forget those feelings from them in this place.

"Hey, hey! Emilia!"

Emilia looked down at Petra who called her name. "What is it?" She asked kindly.

"You're Naruto's girlfriend! Does that mean you're going to take him away from me?!" She said.

Then, Naruto and Emilia got blushed at her question as they shook their head to disagree. Well, that was an unexpected question from Petra.

"N-No, we're just friends." Naruto said.

"P-Petra! Naruto and I were just friends like he said." Emilia said as she looked at Naruto. Her cheeks are so red and her heartbeat went so fast. "And, aren't you a little bit too young?"

"So? When I grow up, I'm going to marry him!" She said as she pointed at Naruto.

"Emilia, don't take it so seriously. They're just joking." Naruto said with a smile as the silver-haired girl showed him a cute pout.

"No! I can't get over the kids!" She said as she received a head pat from him, but she admitted she's having fun with children. She wouldn't mind playing with them, but she hates when they teased her about love relationships.

* * *

**_"I love you."_**

The voice kept echoing in his mind as he stopped washing the dish in the kitchen.

Naruto placed his hand on the head and shook it to forget the voice. But, he kept hearing that voice again and again. He tried to forget it again, but the voice is stuck in his head. He kept hearing the voice says "I love you". It's almost like its haunting him in his mind.

This is very strange because he never had the voice in his head before. Well, Kurama and the other Bijuus are in his head and able to talk to him. However, he doesn't even who voice it was, but he can tell it was a female.

"Naruto-kun?"

Naruto turned around to look at Rem and she had worried looks on her face. She noticed him he stopped washing and went silent without saying words. At the shove, Ram has observed him with narrowed eyes. Emilia and Puck are here, too because they wanted to help them. They stared at Naruto with a concerned expression.

It's great to see everyone worried about him, but they don't to be like that. Of course, Naruto is a shinobi and can handle his things. He has been through the war and fought enemies who tried to destroy his village. However, he needs to stop pushing himself or else they'll get worried.

They mustn't know that Naruto has a return from death ability. The shadow arms will hunt him when he tells them.

"What's up?" He asked as he dried his hands with a towel.

"Are you ok, Naruto-kun? You looked a little pale and quiet." Rem asked as she noticed his skin is pale a little. He usually has high energy and always helped them, but right now, he was…different.

"I'm ok, Rem." Naruto said with a slight smile as he put his on her head and stroked it gently.

Getting a stroke on her hair by him, Rem felt so nice of his hand and smiled at him. She wouldn't mind getting touch by him because she wanted this feeling again. Naruto was the angel who protects her from the darkness.

But still, she worried about Naruto because he wasn't himself like before. He always had high energy and cheerful man, but his attitude has changed for bits. Not really changed, but just a little bit.

"You sure, Naruto?" Emilia asked with worried.

"I'm sure, Emilia-ttabayo." Naruto said as he tried to calm everyone down.

Well, a good thing that Roswaal wasn't here because he said he'll be gone for late, so he'll come back today tonight. Naruto stills don't trust him a lot because he sensed the negative emotions of him. Something wasn't quite right about him. He needs to find out what's his goal.

Naruto can't help it if the clown guy is doing suspicious things.

"Naruto, maybe you should stop and try to relax. You just came back from the last night and rescued the children." Puck said as he flew in front of him. "Maybe Emilia and Rem are right."

"No worry, Puck. I'm completely fine." Naruto said as he looked outside in seconds and remembered it. "I'm going to train for a bit. After that, I'm going to talk with Beatrice."

He began to leave the kitchen to train outside, but he noticed Rem follows him. "Rem, why are you following me?" He asked.

"It was Emilia-sama's request because she isn't too sure if you okay or not." Rem said as she remembered the one day that Naruto collapsed. "Also, I'm worried about your health."

"I'm fine, Rem. Really." Naruto pleaded.

"I have to make sure you're okay, Naruto-kun."

"I'm okay. You can leave now."

"I can't leave you and disobey Emilia-sama's order."

"Then, I will tell her that you don't have to watch me."

"Emilia-sama won't agree with your request."

"Just leave me."

"No."

"Leave me alone."

"No."

"Please-"

"No."

"You didn't even let me finish-"

"No."

…

…

"…No."

"Fine. You can come with me." Naruto sighed as he saw Rem shows her smile. Can't help it, but had to agree Rem's offer. Though, it's great to see her smile again.

"Naruto-kun, what would you do in your training?" Rem asked.

"Pretty much hand-to-hand combat. I guess it's only the way I can do it." Naruto said with a bored tone. He had been training with Bijuus before he arrived here, so pretty much he can do anything.

Well, he did train with Emilia, so she can get better at hand-to-hand combat if she used too much magic. She's a fast learner and hard worker… Actually, he got a new idea for Rem since she's with him now.

"Naruto-kun?" The blue-haired maid wondered as the blond man stopped and turned around to her. "Do you have something in your mind?"

"Yes, I have something in my mind." He grinned.

* * *

"You better explain to me how did you remove the curse?" Beatrice asked seriously as she sat on the chair.

Naruto dropped his sweat for using Kurama's chakra to remove the curse. It wasn't too hard to find it, but he heard the curses are hard to detect. Anyways, he came to Beatrice because she wanted to ask him about his magic. She means the yellow glowing chakra.

"Well, what can I say? I want to tell you that, but I can't. You know why I don't want to explain to you or everyone about my chakra." He said.

What he said is actually true because he doesn't want to people know about him and Bijuus. Humans are greedy and evil who want to take power from them. That's why he doesn't want to explain about Bijuus' chakra.

Beatrice still wants to know how he did, but she understands him and his reasons. He protected Bijuus because humans cannot be trusted unlike him.

"Very well- kashira." She said.

"Thank you for listening to me, Beatrice. I knew you're not a bad person-ttabayo." Naruto said with a smile.

"Do not thank me for this. I'm not nice person what you think I was. Also, you're still not allowed to be in my room and not my friend." She said as she got up and walked toward the bookshelf to grab the book. Funny is she can't reach it because she's too short. "Now, shoo shoo! I don't want to be bothered."

Then, Naruto approached her and grabbed the book for her as he gave it to her. "Is this what you want?" He asked nicely as the little girl grabbed the book from him and sat down on the chair.

"Why you're not leaving? Want me to kick you out?" She asked.

"You're too cold." Naruto said as he sat down on the ground. "Why do you have to be so cold to me? Don't you want someone to come in your room and talk?"

"Only Buddy can." Beatrice said.

"Yes, I know you like to talk with Buddy. Seriously. You need to talk with more people like…you know. People that you know."

Beatrice paused as she stopped reading the book and gazed down at the ground. She never talked with anyone except one person that she used to talk with. Not Naruto because he's annoyed human. It was someone else that she didn't want to tell.

"Beatrice?" Naruto asked as he felt uncomfortable by looking at her eyes. Her eyes seemed to like a little…emotion and went silent.

"Nothing." Beatrice said as she continued to read the book.

"Alright… So, I heard about your contract that you can't leave the mansion."

Beatrice kept reading the book, but her eyes are rolled up to look at him. "Yes, I can't leave the mansion." She said.

"Well, that sucks you can't leave the mansion." Naruto said as he put his hands on his back of the head and relaxed on the bookshelf carefully.

Honestly, that wasn't fair for Beatrice because she's not allows leaving the mansion without the permission from…whoever it was. He doesn't want to ask her because he knows that she won't tell him who it was.

"Alright then." Naruto said as he stood and walked toward the door, but he glanced back to Beatrice. Then, he walked out.

* * *

Rem didn't see Naruto in his room, but she knows where he is at. She looked outside through the window and found Naruto doing his training. He wasn't moving or anything, but it seems like he's meditating. She was surprised to see him doing that. However, the sky is dark and night.

She knows it'll be rude to interrupt his training, but she had to wake him up.

So, the blue-haired maid went outside and walked towards Naruto. She stood in front of him and got curious about what kind of meditating does he do. However, her eyes are staring at the whisker marks on his cheeks. She was curious how it feels like to touch them with her hands. Maybe, it'll feel like thick and soft.

"Hello, Rem." Naruto greeted as his eyes are opened and surprised Rem. He knew she was going for his birth-mark whiskers to touch them. "You can touch them if you want to."

"A-Are you sure?" Rem asked with a blush as she turned away, but she wanted to touch his whiskers. She didn't want to do that to him.

"It's alright, Rem. Just relax." He said as he grabbed her hand and put hers on his whiskers to feel it.

Feeling his whiskers in her hand, Rem was so surprised how soft it is. She was right about thick feeling, but it has a soft feeling.

"How does it feel?" Naruto asked.

"It feels…nice and soft." She replied as she stopped for touching his whiskers. "Naruto-kun, you need to head back for your bed."

"I know that, Rem, but I want to stay here for a bit." He said as he looked at the blue-haired maid and tapping his side. "Come sit with me."

Rem blinked her eyes, but she nodded and sat down with him. She looked at the beautiful moon and stars in the sky. "It's a beautiful sky." She said.

"Yeah, it is. Hopefully, it'll be nice weather tomorrow." Naruto said as he closed his eyes when the nice breeze had on his face.

Rem watched him in amazement how relaxing he is with the wind. With his eyes closed and a smile on his face with a gentle wind, he looked so handsome. It was a beautiful picture ever she had.

"I'm sure it'll be nice tomorrow…" She said as she scooted over to get closer him. "Naruto."

"Yeah?" He asked as he looked at her.

"My sister told me you have a witch miasma… Is that true?" Rem asked as she stared at him. She knows he's a good person, but she needs to know the truth from him. She won't get mad if he tells her-

"Yes, I do have a witch miasma. I knew you two were suspicious of me." Naruto answered boldly. "Don't worry saying apologize to me. I forgive you."

Rem put her hands on the chest where her heart was to feel it. She felt so warm in her heart and happy for Naruto for telling her the truth. "Thank you, Naruto-kun." She smiled.

"No problem-ttabayo." He said as he patted her on the head and heard her giggling. That was a cute giggle he ever heard from her. "Hey, I can hear your cute giggle."

Rem smiled at him, but she felt cold on her arms from the weather. She shivered until she felt warm feeling over her shoulder. Looking over her shoulder, it's Naruto's butler jacket while he was looking at her with a smile on his face.

"Naruto-kun?" She surprised.

"You were cold, so I decided you need the jacket because I don't want you to get sick. Your sister wouldn't like to see you like that." He said.

The blue-haired oni looked at him as her face began to blush. "Thank you." She smiled as her head laid on his shoulder. Really. His jacket is really warm.

"Rem, is there something you want to ask?"

"Few questions or maybe more. What was that yellow magic you used to dispel the curse?"

"Well... Let's just say this is my unique magic. Yin and Yang magic." Naruto answered as he referenced Kurama because he has Yang and Yin chakra or magic.

"Wow, you have Yin and Yang? I thought you only have clone and Rasengan." Rem said in amazement. That's very surprised that blond ninja had Yin and Yang, but his magic was quite different than the others. His yellow magic is unfamiliar to her.

She has seen him used glowing yellow arms to dispel the curses for children. They're almost looking similar to witches' magic, but it's different. She remembered Naruto's magic is a warm feeling. She's wrong about his magic. It's not witch magic.

"Hey, Rem." Naruto said as the blue-haired girl looked at him. "I heard about your village. It was destroyed by the Witch Cult. They took away everything from you and your sister. I'm sorry."

"It's ok, Naruto-kun. Roswaal took care of us, so you don't have to worry about us." She said with a slight smile.

"You don't deserve to have this life. You deserve a happy life." The blond man said as he clenched his fist tightens.

"Naruto-kun, don't worry about me. I accepted this life because I want to forget the pain and fear." Rem said as she took his hand and gulped it. "But, you changed me what I've become. You gave me a new life. So, thank you for not giving me up."

"I… never mind." Naruto sighed as he smiled at her and stroke her on the head. "I'm glad to hear it from you."

Rem was blushed when he strokes on her head, but she loves it. This is her second time getting a stroke from him. A cute giggle slipped past Rem's lips, she couldn't help it.

"Rem? What is it? Why are you giggling?" Naruto asked. Well, he found an answer as Rem kissed on his cheek with surprise. "Eh? …Rem?"

"We… Well, there's no helping it, so I gave you this." Rem said with a blush as she stood up and rushed toward the mansion. She doesn't know why she did that to him. "Goodnight!"

The blond shinobi lost his words… He doesn't know how to respond to this…

* * *

_"Roswaal…what are you up to?"_ Naruto thought as he stared at the ceiling and used the image of him. He knows he's up for something.

*Knock Knock*

The blond man was surprised when someone knocked on the door in the middle of the night. "Who is it?" He asked.

"It's me. Naruto-kun, are you awake?" Rem asked.

"Yeah, give me seconds." He said as he got up from the bed and walked toward the door. He opened it and looked at Rem with pajamas.

"I cannot sleep, so…" She said with a blush as she held her hands tightens and looked at him. "…can I sleep with you?"

Naruto blinked his eyes for the seconds and a flush of embarrassment rose to his cheeks. "W-What?! Y-Your sister will kill me if she found us this…" He said.

"Just for one time… I can't sleep because I had a nightmare." Rem said. "Can I sleep with you? Please…"

For the love of a god, why is Rem so cute?! Naruto wants to say no to her, but he cannot say that word. This innocent girl wants to sleep with him because she had a nightmare.

"Well-alright. You can sleep with me in one night." He said as he saw Rem showed a happy on her face.

Those two went to the bed and sleep together. Naruto was the one who turned off the light first before going to bed. They're so close to the bed. Their faces are too close about a few inches.

"You look nervous." Rem said.

"Of course, I look nervous…" Naruto said with a blush as he heard giggling from her. "It's not funny."

"You are funny."

"This is my first time to sleep with a girl…"

"My first time to sleep with a boy." Rem giggled as she earned a poke on her stomach from Naruto. "Stop, that's tickles!"

"Then, stop making fun of me. I'm going to sleep-" Naruto paused as Rem moved closer and wrapped her arms around his waist.

"Thank you, Naruto-kun."

Naruto was blushed a bit, but he just pulled her toward him with his arm. He heard her gasp in surprise, so he checked on her face. "Are you comfortable?" He asked.

Rem nodded without saying words as she began to sleep and still held his waist. Now, she's safe with him. Her sleepy face was so cute and peaceful.

"Goodnight, Rem." Naruto said before going to sleep.


	8. Chapter 8

**This chapter has been edit by ****XPartan Caos. All the credits to the editor for grammar and spelling.**

* * *

"Did you have fun in there?" Naruto said as he walked beside Emilia.

Emilia smiled remembering her recent trip to Irlam Village. Hanging out with children and villagers alike. She had so much fun with them. The respect and admiration the villagers had for her now was heartwarming and reminded her of why she wanted to rule the kingdom in the first place. "Yes, it was fun." She admitted with a smile as she looked at him.

Back in the village, a lot of the villagers liked Naruto and his warm personality, especially the children whom he rescued. When they were saying their goodbyes, the children begged them to stay there with them a little longer, showing just how much they enjoyed their presence.

Even though Naruto was definitely the center of attention in the village due to his recent popularity, Emilia wasn't forgotten at all, every time loneliness threatened to come close to her mind the children and Naruto would usher her to play with them, all the while the adults watched and laughed, slowly but surely changing their minds about Emilia and her heritage.

Her cloak was no longer part of her attire. All of this experience brought so much joy to her, that she wasn't even aware of this fact.

Naruto too seemed to be having a good time, his somewhat goofy and caring personality made him very popular with the young and very respected by the old.

She marveled at the new and bright experiences she was having in her life, all because of him. Just thinking about him brought about a new feeling in her chest, one she was very inexperienced with. All of this was just like a dream to her, like a fantasy a book where all was good and bright. Thinking about it there was a book like that, with a character not unlike the one she was just having fun with, The Tale of the Utterly Gutsy Shinobi.

"Your sensei was right about you. You're just like that character in the book." She said to Naruto, who was currently eating a sandwich, a gift from the villagers.

"Hm? What was that?"

"Nothing." She replied with a smile as she walked ahead of him and turned back to see him. She smiled at his playfully narrowed eyes.

"You're hiding something from me." Naruto said.

"No." She lied with a small giggle.

"You're lying! I heard you talking about me!"

Seeing him stomp the ground in mock anger, Emilia backed away a few meters from him, hands raised in mock surrender. "You're going have to chase me to the mansion!" She said with a laugh as she started to run away from him.

"Hey, wait!" Naruto yelled as he ran after her, only to slip on some ice and falling his face first into the ground. He quickly recognized this magic as he looked up and found Puck. "Emilia, that's not fair! You have Puck to play tricks on me!"

"You're a shinobi! You're too fast, so I have Puck to be my partner!" She laughed as she kept running from him.

"You better catch her, Naruto!" Puck smirked as he prepared six magic balls and aimed at him.

The blond shinobi smiled challengingly and accepted their little game as he chased Emilia.

About 15 minutes later, the chase was over as Naruto managed to catch the running form of Emilia. He slipped on the ice floor twenty times because of Puck's ice magic. All of them had fun together with their short game.

"Can't believe you slipped on your butt so many times. Does it hurt?" Puck asked with a playful face.

"Damn right, it hurts!" Naruto yelled as he glared at the spirit creature for using that damned ice floor on him. If he wasn't capable of self-regeneration, he was positive he would need a pillow to seat anywhere.

Emilia giggled at Naruto's childish behavior. Seeing him arguing with Puck amused her greatly. Those two sure had a great friendship despite meeting each other rather recently. Only Naruto could make her laugh like this. She… liked his personality because he wasn't a false guy like other men she knew. He wasn't like them at all.

When he passed through the sunlight, her eyes widened in shock at what she saw. His body had changed into a glowing golden magic with a golden coat. There were strange black symbols on his back. His magic was so bright and warm. It was beautiful.

So beautiful, in fact, that she forgot all about how close they were to their destination.

"Emilia, we have guests." Naruto said snapping her of her trance as he pointed at a carriage in front of the mansion.

"Yes, I see it." The silver-haired girl said, shaking her head.

In front of Roswaal's mansion, there was a single horse-sized lizard attached to a carriage. The lizard's species was unfamiliar to Naruto, as he had never seen one before. He had only seen horses in this world act as pullers of carriages, so seeing a lizard much bigger than a horse doing the same was lightly surprising to him.

The lizard wasn't the only unknown thing in his view however, a white-haired old guy standing by the carriage was as well. He had white hair and blue eyes. He wore a black butler suit with a white shirt, white vest, and black bow tie.

"They must be from the Capital." Emilia said.

"Really? Maybe about the Royal Selection?" Naruto inquired.

Emilia nodded unsurely as she and Naruto walked in the main road to greet the old man.

"Welcome home. Please forgive me for parking in front of your mansion, Emilia-sama." The old man greeted with respect as he bowed to them. After he bowed, he noticed a blond man was standing beside Emilia. "I believe we haven't met before?"

"Naruto Uzumaki, it's nice to meet you." The blond man greeted with a smile as both of them shook their hand respectfully.

"Wilhelm van Astrea, a pleasure, young man."

He sensed the old man's intense gaze locked on him, azure eyes meet sapphire blue. His eyes were serious and deadly. The shinobi could tell that he had experienced through war and death. Judging by Wilhelm's appearance and aura, he wasn't just an old butler, but he was a killer and a great fighter.

**"This old man is dangerous. I wouldn't underestimate him if I were you." Kurama warned.**

Naruto nodded to him mentally as he continued to smile at Wilhelm. "So, what's brings you here from the Capital?" He asked cautiously, anyone who Kurama saw as a potential threat wasn't someone to take lightly.

"Is it about the Royal Selection?" Emilia asked as she walked beside him.

"Yes, Emilia-sama. It's about the royal selection and an emissary is already inside the mansion." Wilhelm answered.

"I see." Emilia murmured with a curious face. She didn't know they would come today.

Naruto didn't seem to know a lot about an emissary and a meeting. He looked at Emilia, who had a serious look on her face. "Emilia, do you want me to go with you?" He asked.

"No thank you, Naruto." Emilia said with a smile as she looked at him. "Roswaal should be in the meeting room too, so I'll be fine. Oh! And, I will tell Rem to pass you and Wilhelm some tea, so could you wait outside for her?"

"No problem-ttebayo." He said as he watched Emilia go inside the mansion to meet the emissary.

Naruto stayed outside with Wilhelm, waiting for Rem to get the tea for them. The blond man looked away from the older man, not staring at his eyes because he didn't want to seem disrespectful.

"So… tell me. Are you some kind of bodyguard or butler?" Naruto asked as he gazed at him.

"Both." Wilhelm answered as he looked at his company. This blond boy was a young kid, but experience told him that he wasn't just a kid. "Are you?"

"Both, I guess…but not really. You see, I'm sort of a guest in Roswaal's mansion since Emilia lets me live in here." The blond man said. "So yeah, you can tell I'm like you. I'm just making sure she's safe."

"I see. By the way, I did see that you are quite close to Emilia-sama."

"We're just good friends." Naruto said with a smile as he crossed his arms and sat down on the edge of the water fountain. "She's sweet, kind, and warm. She was so happy when I became her first friend. Emilia hasn't had friends in the past because her appearance frightens people, quite sad the amount of ignorance in people's minds." He was speaking the truth but also reading the old man's emotions, so it came as a welcomed surprise when he found none against Emilia.

Wilhelm watched him very carefully while he's talking with him. His voice. His eyes. They're serious and honest. The blond human wasn't pretending or lying to him. He doesn't seem to be afraid of Emilia, a half-elf.

On another note about Naruto, Emilia seemed to enjoy his presence a lot based on the scene they made at the gate when he watched them from the main entrance. Her laugh. Her smile.

He started to like his presence and personality because of how he takes care of Emilia. Maybe, that's why Emilia showed him her sincere laugh and smiled at him.

"Emilia-sama should be happy that she has you, Naruto-sama. I can quite tell that she enjoys your presence." Wilhelm said.

"Please, call me Naruto. I'm not one for formalities. And quite the contrary, I'm blessed with having her in my life. After all, I don't make promises to anybody."

"A promise?"

"Yep, a promise that I never break and never go back on!" Naruto smiled as he put his hand on his chest. "Hopefully, she'll become a great King one day, her heart is right for the position. I know people won't like her at first, however, she would never give up just because of that, after all, the curse that plagues the world will be broken only by those blessed with a good heart and good intentions."

Wilhelm narrowed his eyes with an interesting expression as he looked at him. "A curse?" He asked, not having heard of a worldwide curse before.

"A curse which represents the cycles of war, conflict, and hatred that occupies the world. Emilia will break that curse, I'm sure of it. If there's such a thing as peace she'll find it. She will be King and she will bring peace to the Kingdom of Lugnica. I believe in her. That's just who Emilia is."

_"This boy…" _Wilhelm thought as he stared at his eyes. They're strong and courageous, he meant every single word he said. The boy delivered a good speech to him about how Emilia is going to change the world, and meant every single word.

Naruto truly believes she'll be the King who will break the curse of war, conflict, and hatred. It was true that humans don't like her, but no matter how much it hurts, she's going to keep walking, because that was the path she chose.

However, if Wilhelm had to be honest about Naruto, he could imagine Naruto taking her role to rule the kingdom, he could change history and break the curse that he believed plagued the world.

"Naruto-kun, Wilhelm-san."

The two men turned around to look at the blue-haired maid who brought the tea for them. Well, she brought apple juice for Naruto because he doesn't like tea.

"Hey, Rem. You brought apple juice!" Naruto said with a smile. "Can you pass the tea for Wilhelm?"

"It's your favorite drink, Naruto-kun. And yes." Rem smiled as she poured the tea in the cup for Wilhelm. "Please, enjoy."

Wilhelm took a sip of the tea and sighed in satisfaction. "It tastes lovely." He said.

"Thank you." Rem said as she bowed lightly and poured the apple juice for Naruto.

"Thank you, Rem." Naruto said.

"I'm back, old man Wil! Sorry to make you wait outside."

Naruto heard a new female's voice speak. Turning around he saw a cute girl with cat ears. She looks a little bit older than him.

She has flax colored hair and yellow eyes. She wore a blue-collar with a ribbon and a blue-dress. Her arm covers are white and a blue scarf tied around her right arm. She wore black tights, blue leggings, and blue shoes.

"I bet you were bored." She said.

"Not at all. This young man, Naruto, has been speaking with me." Wilhelm said.

"Oh, nyow I see… You must be the boy Emilia-sama mentioned. Is it true that you saved her life?" She asked.

"Yes, that's me."

"It's nice to meet you, but I have to go right now." The catgirl said as she walked toward the carriage. "See you!"

Naruto and Rem watched them leave the mansion to head back to the capital. Naruto didn't catch her name because she didn't introduce herself. She was a cute girl though.

He blinked in confusion when he heard snickers in his mind. They seem to be holding a laugh, hard.

Narrowing his eyes suspiciously he turned to Rem.

"Rem, who was that cute cat girl?" He asked.

"His name is Ferris."

"...His?"

"She's a guy."

…

…

…

!

"HAKU!"

"Why are you yelling Naruto! What is an Haku!"

* * *

In the forest, Wilhelm and Ferris were on their way back to the capital. Ferris was talking to him after he saw him chatting with the new blond boy.

"Isn't it rare for you to take an interest in others?" He asked.

"That's quite a misunderstanding you have there." Wilhelm said.

"Oh, that's right! It's not that you aren't interested in others…" Ferris said as he gave him a death stare. "You just like to cut them instead of talking with them."

"That's also a grave misunderstanding. I wouldn't go easy on him." He said with a slight smile as he glanced back to him. "Did Emilia-sama tell you about Naruto?"

"I'm surprised you asked me that." Ferris said as he remembered the blond man. "Emilia-sama told me that he saved her life from an assassin. Naruto defeated a vampire known as the Bowl Hunter. I believe you are familiar with that name."

No wonder Wilhelm started to take an interest in Naruto Uzumaki, anyone who killed Elsa was someone to be cautious of, after all Elsa was the Bowl Hunter, and a former member of the Assassination Organization. When he looked at the blond boy's eyes, they were strong, fearless, and selfless, the qualities of a true knight.

Naruto wasn't like a knight or an assassin, he seemed to embody both ways, an assassin with a noble heart. How odd, this wasn't something normal, that much was true.

"I merely took a bit of a liking to that young man's eyes." Wilhelm said. "Those are the eyes of one who has experienced war and death."

"Hmm, you've lost me nyow." Ferris said. "But if Wilhelm van Astrea, the sword demon, says it, I'm sure the boy will face quite a bumpy road in the future."

"I wouldn't say that, Ferris." He said as he remembered Naruto's eyes. "That boy faced great enemies in the past. I can tell… I wouldn't make light of his abilities, if I were you."

"What do you mean?"

"If my instincts are right, he could outmatch my grandson. But then again, we have just met him, its too soon to make assumptions like that."

"I wonder about that."

* * *

"You want me to go to the capital?" Naruto asked surprised as he stared at Emilia.

"Yes, I want you to go with us to the capital." She said with a nod.

"But, I thought the Royal Selection only allows royal candidates and the best bodyguards." Naruto said having talked about this a little with Rem before.

The blond shinobi was surprised that Emilia wanted him to go to the capital with her. He read about the Royal Selection, only allowing royal candidates and bodyguards, like Roswaal who had been with her for a long time. Well, Naruto wasn't part of this, and neither was he a bodyguard. He's just a guest in Roswaal's mansion. Naruto was an outsider.

He doesn't need to go with them because Roswaal and Rem are going with Emilia, him going as well would be overkill.

"Emilia, Id love to go, but-" He was interrupted as his hand was grabbed by her smaller hands. It made him look at her begging face with one of confusion.

"I'm not ready to go royal selection on my own. The reason why I want you to go with me, it's because you helped me with my dream and believed in me since I met you, without a question you believed that I could do it, even when sometimes I was in doubt myself. So… I need you to go with me and cheer me up…" She said as she gripped his hand a bit tighter. "Please…"

Her gentle voice reached his heart and he knew at that moment that he had no option, he would support her no matter what, he believed in her and her goals, after all. "Alright, I'll come to the Royal Selection, but just for you." He said with a smile and an amused shake of his head.

Hearing that had Emilia showing a big smile, Naruto couldn't help but smile back seeing her happiness. He promised to himself that he will try his best to make her happy.

"It seems there are people in the capital who wanted thank you, Naruto-kun. This may be a good opportunity for you to welcome them." Rem said.

"Oh, yeah. I almost forgot about that." Naruto remembered as he started to smile and stroked her head. "Thanks for reminding me, Rem."

"You're welcome." Rem smiled.

"Also, I need to get a new combat suit." Naruto said as he looked over his butler uniform. "I just can't keep wearing this suit every day."

"You know, there's a good armory shop in the capital, I'm sure you'll find something that suits your taste there."

* * *

"It's been a long time since I was last here." Naruto said as he looked outside the window of a carriage. He's back in the capital of the Kingdom of Lugnica.

"I remembered you did some crazy stuff to me." Emilia said as she remembered how she got carried by him jumping on buildings. Gosh, that scared her so much.

"I know you were having fun." He smirked.

"No, it was scary! You should've warned me!"

"Come on, Emilia. It wasn't that scary."

She remembered the place where she met Naruto for the first time and how he helped her find her insignia. It was stolen by a thief named Felt, if memory served her right. However, the little girl returned the insignia to her and apologized. Before that, an assassin named Elsa Granhiert tried to kill Emilia, but Naruto saved her life.

He killed her before Reinhard got there. After that, Emilia remembered she offered him to come to live with her in Roswaal's mansion. She was glad she made such a good friend that day, who knows what her life would be now if she didn't stumble on to him.

"I wonder where's Felt and Rom? I remember Reinhard is taking care of those two, right?" Naruto pondered, having remembered the same events as her.

"Almost, but he suddenly took Felt with him." Emilia said as she remembered that one time… Reinhard knocked that girl out and took her to someplace.

"That makes it sound like a kidnapping, or abduction and confinement." Naruto said with a sweat drop.

"In any case, we should head to the guards' barracks in front of the nobles area to contact Reinhard."

Minutes later, they arrived at the guards' barrack in front of the nobles' area. It was a very impressive building and well-guarded, judging by the knights in front of it.

"So this is the guards' barracks. I'm impressed." Naruto said as he looked at the building and the guards.

"It also serves as a checkpoint for people going in and out of the nobles' area." Emilia said.

"Then, we need to hurry or else Rem will pout."

"You're right."

"Well, if it isn't Emilia-sama."

Naruto heard an unfamiliar voice as he turned to see the person who called her name. They saw a handsome guy with Royal Guard uniform which is kinda similar to Reinhard's uniform. His eyes were yellow and he had light purple hair that was arranged neatly with a strand hanging down his face.

"It's good to see you again. Have you been well since we last met?" The knight, judging by the attire, asked.

"Yes, everything is basically the same. You also seem well, Julius. I'm surprised to see a member of the Royal Guard like you in the barracks."

"I came here to inspect and praise the soldiers for their good work, after a friend asked me to. The mere fact that you remember me is an honor. It sure was good that I came here, I was able too see how much you have grown beautiful, Emilia-sama." Julius said as he approached Emilia and bended down on his knee and took take her hand. Then, he kissed it in a scene only a knight like him could offer.

"Thank you, Julius. This may be abrupt but I have business here, and I'd like you to announce me at the castle." She said.

"I see, of course, Emilia-sama."

Naruto stood right beside her and didn't react at all when he saw Julius kiss Emilia's hand. That, however, triggered the Bijuus as they told him that guy was trying to steal her away from him. The blond, however, knew that he couldn't do anything stupid or else he could embarrass Emilia, so he just stayed still.

That didn't stop him from feeling a little bit jealous at this…but he held it within himself well.

"Does your business involve this young man?" Julius asked as he looked at the blond man. He observed him for a bit, and then asked. "May I ask your name?"

"Naruto Uzumaki." Naruto said with a smile as he gestured a handshake to him. "I heard she called your name, so you're Julius?"

"Yes, my name is Julius Juukulius." Julius said as he looked at Emilia. "I'll guide you to the conversing mirror now. You can talk with Reinhard there."

"Conversing mirror?" The blond shinobi asked, having never heard the term before.

"Its a meteor that facilitates talking with someone, using two mirrors facing one another, there's a lot of them so they are used for communication." Emilia said.

_"Oh… what an ingenious form of communication."_ Naruto thought as he looked at Julius and Emilia. "Want me to stay here and wait for you?"

"Eh? How did you know?"

"A lucky guess. Since Julius is helping you, I'm sure you'll be safe with him."

Emilia was surprised he guessed her mind right. She was going to tell him to wait outside for her. "I'll try to come back before things run too long." She said as she and Julius walked inside the guards' barracks.

Naruto watched them walk inside the building, when they were gone he sat on the stone bricks. The Kingdom of Lugnica hasn't changed a bit since he left to live in Roswaal's mansion. Everything is the same and there was nothing new. He had to admire the architecture though, it was very different from his home.

However, not only he's here to be with Emilia he also had to be looking out for her because she could be targeted by assassins. He found out that the girl with blue hair was a former member of the Assassination Organization. She was kid, but not a normal one because she's a beast tamer who tamed the Wolgarm from 3 days ago, a no small feat for one so young, or so he read.

Deciding to do something else to pass the time, he closed his eyes and entered the all too familiar sewer that was his mindscape.

_"Any clues on why Emilia is the target?" _Naruto said as he looked at Kurama and the others.

**"I believe they're trying to kill Emilia because she's a witch, humans tend to hate what its not like them, more so the things that remind them of what they hate." Son Goku said.**

_"Not only them, but we have another enemy called the Witch Cult. They serve the Witch of Envy, Satella."_

**"Why do you say that?" Asked Kokuo.**

_"I feel like the Witch Cult is probably targeting-" _Naruto paused as he saw a girl being dragged in an alleyway.

The blond shinobi got off the bricks and walked toward the alley where the girl was dragged to. He took a peek to see what was going on until he saw three thugs, bullying a beautiful girl. Naruto remembered those three thugs, he beat them up several days ago. But, the girl… he hasn't seen her before.

The girl has red eyes with the long orange hair that she keeps tied. She wears a red and black dress along with a red fan, red shoes, and red and black hair accessories.

"You little…"

"Don't screw with us!"

"Want us to mess up that pretty face of yours?"

"Don't make such a racket, commoners. Fools with no character pick fights for the most foolish of reasons…" The girl said as she unfolded her red fan, and blinking in confusion when she saw a blond boy behind the thugs.

Ton, the big guy felt someone is tapping on his shoulder which him pissed. When he turned around to yell or punch the person who had dared to interrupt them, his eyes widened with fear for meeting that boy who beat them up before.

"I-It can't be… It's you!" He said as the other guys turned around and adopted the same expression as their boss, shock and some fear.

"You're that guy!" Chin, the skinny guy said.

"Please spare us!" Kan, the little guy said.

Naruto cracked his fists and glared at them for assaulting the young lady. "Words aren't going to help you." He said.

*POW! POW! POW!*

All three thugs were knocked out and beaten up by a single punch to the skull. The blond shinobi sighed and shook his head in disappointment, he warned them not to rob people again, but they didn't listen. Hopefully, this time they learned their lesson.

Naruto turned around to the orange-haired girl to ensure her safety, but he got surprised when she approached him readily and quickly. Azure eyes meet crimson red eyes. They found themselves staring at each other for a few seconds.

"What's up?" He asked.

"You there!" The girl called as she pointed her fan and gave a serious look at him. "What's your name?"

"Naruto Uzumaki…" Naruto said slowly as he noticed her eyes are staring at him. "Who are you?"

That question seemed to insult her as she glared at him. "You don't know who I am?! I'm Priscilla Barielle, one of the candidates to become the next king of Lugnica!" She said loudly. "From now on, you will be my slave knight!"

Naruto blinked his eyes in confusion at her. He learned Priscilla is one of the candidates for King, so this was one of Emilia's rivals. "Uhh… sorry, I have to go now because someone is waiting for me, and you're very welcome." He replied as he turned away, but his sleeve was grabbed by her hand.

"How dare you turn away from me! I will ask you nicely, will you be my knight?!"

"You're the candidate, so that means you have your own knight. I can't be your knight. Let go of my sleeve, you crazy lady-"

"I finally find you!"

Naruto heard a familiar voice and he turned to see Emilia. She must have been looking for him since he had to go and save Priscilla. He saw a muscular person standing next to Emilia. His appearance didn't seem like that of a knight because he wore a helmet and a green open vest. He wore tan pants, sandals, and an orange cloak.

"Emilia?" He sounded surprised as he approached the silver-haired girl while staring at the stranger with a helmet. "Sorry that I ran off, but who's this?"

"I am Al, Priscilla's knight." He introduced himself.

"Al? Oh, you're her knight." Naruto said as he pointed at the red-dressed girl. "She's over there."

"To think that you'd be waiting for me at my destination… That's admirable, Al!" Priscilla said as she approached them.

"I think it's more of a coincidence, but…saying too much might hurt her so I'll just agree with her." Al said as he delivered a thumb up. "That's exactly right!"

"_Don't worry about her feelings and then think like that out loud, you idiot!" _Naruto thought with a sweat drop.

Emilia saw Priscilla was approaching them, so she held her hood up and moved closer to Naruto's back. The blond shinobi glanced back to see her, however, he noticed her eyes becoming fearful when she's looking at the red-dressed girl.

"Well, it looks like we both found the ones we were looking for. Let's go." Naruto said, eager to get away from the woman before Emilia became more uncomfortable.

* * *

"That girl from before…"

"Oh, you mean Priscilla? She's one of the candidates. She was in trouble, so I had to-"

"Where did you meet that girl? And how-"

"Emilia."

The silver-haired girl bumped on his chest and looked at his face. His facial expressions said was worried and curious. He was looking her straight in the eye.

"I'm sorry. I didn't know that you two weren't friends because of your appearance." He asked.

Emilia nodded and looked down at the ground to avoid his gaze, she couldn't see him like this, he had the ability to immediately tell what she was thinking, it was a blessing and sometimes even a curse. She didn't tell him that there were four candidates wanting to become King. She couldn't blame him because he didn't knew Priscilla was one of the candidates, much less that she looked at her with bad eyes.

"Did she say anything bad to you?" Naruto asked softly.

The half-elf couldn't say no to him, so she nodded to him truthfully. The truth was that she was being discriminated against by them. They didn't like her because she's a silver-haired witch, like Satella. Now, she couldn't bear to hold it any longer, so her facial expression turned sad.

Looking down with her sad face, she still couldn't gaze at him, less she risk her thoughts being bared before him. She was going to say something until her voice was caught in her throat. Her chin was lifted by rough fingers. The feeling was quite unfamiliar… Naruto was kissing her on the forehead.

"You sure are head strong, though I would say that only adds cute points to you. How many times do I have to tell you that it doesn't matter what people think of you, the only thing that matters is that you have people who believe in you, you have to move forward not only for you but for them as well, for us. So stop being sad, because there are people who care for you and don't want to see you like that." He said with a gentle smile.

His gentle smile made her heart race up and the color of red flashed on her cheeks. His voice was so gentle and his words as sweet as honey. They reached her heart and changed her sad face into a surprised one. Getting kissed on her forehead by him, it was her first time… She never had that experience before, but it felt nice.

"Am I that headstrong?" She wondered.

"Yep, but don't worry I'll always be there to look out for that! "

"Really?"

"Damn straight!"

Emilia let out a giggle, she didn't know why she did that, but hearing those words from him, it sounded very funny and reassuring. "Thank you, Naruto." She said.

"You're welcome." Naruto said as he smiled at her when she turned happy once again. It was a natural look for her, unlike her sad face.

But, there was a big problem that he mustn't forget, his goal. His goal is to save the world or find a way to get back to his home. He couldn't just stay in here forever, but if he leaves this world, he would have to leave Emilia alone. He made the promise to her and Rem that he wouldn't leave them, but wouldn't he? Could he choose between his home and the new friends he made here?

Uzumaki Naruto never breaks his promises, but could he just leave these world without having the reassurance that he could come back for them?

What should he do? Should he tell them the truth? Would they believe him and support him?

**"Naruto, even if you save the world, you're going have to leave them. They belong in here. If Emilia does become the new King, for how long will she rule? Don't forget her age." Matatabi said.**

_"I know…"_

**"Why not just take them with you?" Son asked.**

**"Bad idea, only you can go back to our home. They probably won't let you take them. You have to take into consideration that you aren't here just because, someone had to bring you here, it doesn't make sense for you to just appear out of nowhere in this world." Kurama said.**

_"I know, but I think I'm going to tell them when the times comes."_

**"You should, because you told the little brat about us." Kurama said.**

_"You're the one that you wanted me to tell her."_

"Hey, Naruto." Emilia said.

"Yeah, what's up?" He asked as he looked at Emilia.

"You said you needed to go to an armory. Now, it's your chance to go there."

"I thought you were going to take me there."

"Well… I don't know where to find it." The half-elf confessed as her face glowed a pink hue. "Maybe it'll be best to have Rem go with you."

After she confessed to him, she hears him sighing at her in disappointment as her face glowed even redder from embarrassment. She gave a pout and a light slap in the arm to him for the sigh.

"Don't sigh to me! I confessed to you that I don't know where it is!" She yelled indignantly.

"Sorry, sorry!" He laughed. Looking around he stopped when he saw a jewel shop on his right. "Emilia, wait here for a minute."

Emilia looked at him with confusion, but she nodded and watched him go inside the jewel shop. There was nothing she could do right now, but wait for his return. She smiled fondly thinking about the oddity that was Naruto, and the place he deserved in her heart despite so little time knowing each other. It was nice of him to comfort her. Though, the kiss on her forehead was a surprise.

_"He understands your feelings, Lia." _Puck said mentally.

_"I know, he's so nice to me. He knows a lot about me and my feelings." _She said, remembering her hesitance to look a him in the eye was for that exact reason.

_"Maybe he has had similar experiences to yours. He doesn't want you to go through that like he did. That's why he made that promise to you." He said._

_"Promise…" _Emilia said as she remembered the promise he made to her. _"What do you mean he has had similar experiences to mine?"_

_"I looked at his eyes. You two have very similar eyes when you think about bad things. He must have been through a lot of hardships and pain, like what you experience."_

"Emilia, I'm back!"

The silver-haired girl heard as she looked up to see him come back from the jewel shop. She was curious, what did he buy from there. She spotted a white quartz butterfly hairpin. The hairpin looks very beautiful with such blue color, and the butterfly is her favorite bug so it looked even prettier.

She was going to ask him why did he buy such an object, until he moved in closer and removed the white hairpin from the left side of her hair. Then, he replaced it with the new one and stepped back with his smile. The half-elf reached her hand for the new hairpin and felt it.

"Naruto, is this… is this for me?" She asked with a shocked expression. Her mind was completely blown for the simple but caring gesture of the blond.

"This is for you, Emilia. I bought it for you." Naruto said with a smile as he looked at her new hairpin. "You look beautiful."

Emilia touched the new hairpin again. She never had a gift from someone. It was the first time someone bought a gift for her.

"Thank you, Naruto." She said with a smile. "I won't forget this."

"You're welcome. We should get going before Rem-" The blond man paused as he saw Emilia hold his hand. He raised an eyebrow in curiosity.

The silver-haired girl didn't know why her hand suddenly grabbed his but went along with it. "C-Can I?" She asked with a blush.

"Sure." Naruto answered without hesitation as he smiled slightly and held her hand back reassuring her that was there for her.

The half-elf and blond shinobi walked together with smiles, hands intertwined.

Emilia couldn't help but blush when he accepted her request. It was her idea to hold hands, and even though she almost died of embarrassment it turned out all right. This was her first time holding his hand, she didn't have much experience holding someone's hand so she felt nervous about it.

Feeling Naruto's hand, she started to like it. His warmth enveloped her hand and made her relax. Every time she touched him, every time she looked into his eyes, she felt a comfort she never experienced before.

His brightful personality illuminated her lonely soul. The promise he made to her seemed like an unmovable pillar, one that filled her with hope for the future.

No matter how many times she started to sink back into darkness he seemed to be there to get her out once again, never giving up and never asking for anything in return, almost like her guardian angel.

* * *

After Naruto brought Emilia to the house where Roswaal and Rem were, Emilia told Rem to guide Naruto to the armor shop. Rem accepted her request, so she and Naruto headed out to the armor shop together.

"So, Naruto-kun, what kind of armor do you want from there?" Rem asked.

Naruto crossed his arms with a thoughtful look on his face. "Not really an armor, but I just need light protection, something resistant and that allows me to move freely. Also, more weapons." He said, looking over his restricting butler uniform.

"Something wrong? You were looking at your clothes." She said.

"Actually, I need new clothes. I can't wear this butler suit every day. I'm not used to fight in such fancy uniform."

"I see." The blue-haired maid said with a smile. "Then, I will help you find your new clothes. I will do my best-ttebayo."

"Hey! No copying, that is a Naruto Uzumaki only!" Naruto said pushing her lightly with his hip as she giggled at him for their playful banter. Rem sure has changed a lot since he first met her.

Her smile. Her laugh. It was nice to see that side of her. Even though it wasn't much Naruto would like to believe that he brought a simple change to Rems life.

"By the way, Rem."

"Yes, Naruto-kun?"

Naruto observed her maid clothes closely, he hasn't seen her wearing different clothes since he first saw her, like Emilia she has been wearing the same dress every day. "How come you keep wearing the same clothes?" He asked.

"Ah, my sister and I do not have any clothes apart from our uniforms, we store our change of clothes within our rooms." Rem answered as she noticed his brow was furrowed in concentration. "Is there something wrong with my uniform?"

"No, not at all. I think you look great in your uniform, but…" Naruto said with a blush as he scratched his cheek lightly with a finger. "I don't wanna be rude, but it'll be better if you could wear different clothes. I believe you would be cuter with something different."

"C-Cuter." She said with a blush as she rolled over her fingers and turned away from him, so he couldn't see her blush. "T-Then, I'll go shopping to buy some clothes for myself if that's your wish Naruto-kun."

Naruto blinked his eyes for seconds, but he smiled at her as he grabbed her hand and proceed to lead her away into a different street. He could feel her hand tighten around his and heard her laugh. So, he laughed with her too.

Best shopping day, ever.

* * *

"Wow, it's huge!" Naruto was amazed by the throne room, he explores with his eyes around the area. The building is huge and a lot of knights were stationed there. However, he saw the other group wearing expensive clothes on the right side of the knights, making sure to leave a huge path in the center of the building. They must be nobles seeing that that they had no weapons or armor.

He noticed the glares that they were sending Emilia. It wasn't from the knights because they showed respect. The glares were from the nobles. They didn't seem too happy to see her.

Seeing them glare at Emilia, made Naruto very angry at them. However, he needed to calm down and not do stupid things, for Emilia. He couldn't help but dislike this people already, he remembered his past when he was an orphan child and got hated by the villagers because he had Kurama inside of him, something he couldn't help, like Emilia who couldn't help the way she was born. He had been through a lot of shit and pains for people like the majority of this nobles.

"Naruto, are you okay?" The silver-haired girl asked, seeing him frown.

The blond shinobi looked at her and nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine." He replied as he noticed her face seemed nervous, very nervous. "You'll be fine, Emilia. I'm here for you and you're a great person. You have to keep calm and believe in yourself. I believe in you-ttebayo."

Naruto patted her head as she looked at him and smiled. "Yes!" She replied with determination burning in her eyes.

"Good!" He said as he turned to Roswaal." Where should I be waiting?"

"Just stand with the knights. Emilia-sama needs to be in the center." The clown man said.

Naruto nodded to him as he walked toward the knights while looking at Emilia and giving her a thumbs up. However, he saw two women that he hadn't met before. One had green hair in a military uniform. The other one had purple hair and wore a white dress with a fur hat, but she looked…like a child.

They must be the candidates who want to be the future ruler. And, of course, he found Priscilla who just winked at him.

"You came just as I expected, Naruto."

Naruto knows that voice as he turned to see familiar red-haired man looking at him with a smile. "Hey, Reinhard!" He greeted, shaking hands with the knight.

"It has been awhile. How have you been?" Reinhard asked.

"I've been good, really good-ttebayo!" He said.

"You haven't changed since I first met you back in that bar."

"You, too. Hey, Reinhard." Naruto said as he looked at the women in far right. "Who are they? I haven't seen them before."

"That woman in white dress name Anaastasia Hoshin. If you see the girl in military dress, her name is Crusch Karsten."

"And them?" Naruto asked pointing to some old guys in chairs that were visible to everyone.

"Oh, those are the members of the sage council, they rule the country since there's no King."

Naruto nodded to him and continued to look at the four candidates. So, they're all here because they were candidates to take the position of King of Lugnica. This looks very familiar to a Hokage meeting or voting to choose one person who could be the leader of the village.

"Everyone in attendance!"

A loud and strong voice surprised Naruto as he looked at the large man in knight armor with green hair. His voice silenced everyone and all focus was now on him.

"Now, if I may be so forward, I, Marcos, leader of the Royal Knights, will direct today's proceedings. It all happened about half a year ago, when members of the royal family, starting with the king, went into hiding, one by one, causing-"

"Listen…" Anastasia interrupted him. "I get that you wanna talk up a good show here, but I'm busy, you know. As we say in Kararagi, 'Time is money."

"You're kidding?" Naruto asked.

"Evidently, everyone in western Kararagi speaks that way." Al said.

"I'm sorry, Anastasia-sama… But the last candidate still hasn't arrived…" Marcos said.

"The last candidate? I thought there were only four of them?" Naruto wondered.

"Currently, there are only four candidates. The royal selection hasn't even begun. But today, history is set in motion." Reinhard said with conviction.

"I call the knight Reinhard van Astrea to the front!" Was the call of Marcos, to which Reinhard obliged with a resounding "Yes!"

Walking to the center of the building just behind the candidates Reinhard bowed to the old men in the chairs.

"Honorable members of the council, I, Reinhard van Astrea wish to report the success of my mission. The fifth and last candidate to the throne of Lugnica was finally found."

"The last candidate has finally arrived!" The knights guarding the door yelled as if on cue.

The doors leading the throne room opened and everyone's attention was directed immediately towards them.

Naruto turned to the door and narrowed his eyes to look better. He saw a light yellow dress with black, inside it was a girl that was shorter than Anastasia. The girl looks very familiar to him because she had golden hair and red eyes…

_"Are you kidding me?! Is this for real?!" _He thought with a shocked look as he found that the girl was Felt, he was quite surprised that she's in the Royal Selection and became a candidate. Then, he looked at Reinhard that bowed to Felt.

"Felt-sama, thank you for gracing us with your presence." The red-haired knight said with his ever present charming smile.

"Reinhard…" Felt said gently with a smile as she approached him with the grace one would expect of a noble.

Wow, Naruto was quite surprised at her personality change since he remembered her old self back from the first day he landed on this world. He had to applaud Reinhard for doing such a great job with her, and-

"You bastard!" Felt said with an angry expression as she suddenly launched a kick to Reinhard's face, but he blocked her attack with ease. "What do you think you're doing, bringing me to a place like this?! What's with these clothes!"

Never mind… Felt hasn't changed at all. Though, perhaps it was for the better that her personality remained like that.

"You surprised me… What's brought on such behavior?" Reinhard asked sadly as he put her leg down gently.

"Don't block my kick and ask me like nothing happened! I've had just about all I can take!" Felt said.

"Does the dress not suit your taste? It looks lovely on you." He said.

Felt seemed taken aback by that comment and actually blushed to the praise. "R-Really-No, wait!" Only to explode in anger once more. "Don't you feel ashamed of yourself as a knight, kidnapping and imprisoning someone!" Felt seemed ready to burst a vein.

"I don't mind as long as it allows the kingdom to prosper." Reinhard said with the swift answer.

Felt gave him a scowl, before she noticed Naruto was standing right behind Reinhard. "Naruto, what the heck are you doing here?" She sounded surprised to see the blond boy who just waved his hand to her.

"Hey, it's been a while." Naruto said with a smile. "I'm surprised you became a candidate."

"It's a long story."

"Felt-sama, it may be a good thing to renew old friendships, however, please come over here!" Marcos seemed to be getting impatient.

"Reinhard, like I told you already, I have no interest in becoming the next King!"

"I believe in you Felt-sama."

Felt 'tsked' to him as she walked in the center and stood next to Emilia.

It was nice to see Felt again since Naruto left the capital for several days. However, that girl hasn't changed at all, and now she was candidate to rule the kingdom, what happened in such a short amount of time?

"I believe all the candidates are already here, so we can begin with the ceremony!" Reinhard said.

So, everything begun as Marcos announced everyone about the God Dragon Volcanica and the Dragon History Stone. There was a new prophecy carved into the Dragon History Stone. It said "When the covenant of Lugnica is severed, a new leader will guide the country". Supposedly, one of five candidates shall become the new King and renew the covenant with the dragon.

"Even if she is recognized as a candidate, don't you think there's a problem with the election?" Was the comment of a noble.

"Are you saying that we, the Imperial Knights, made a mistake?" At this inquire of the noble, all the Royal Knights looked at them, and the tension in the air seemed palpable.

"Silence!" Said one the councilmen. "Reinhard, could you explain to us how you found the fifth candidate?"

Kneeling before the old man Reinhard complied. "I found Felt-sama in the slums, a month ago."

This revelation had the nobles very horrified, a rat from the slums, as the new King of Lugnica! Preposterous!

Murmurs were quickly increasing and Felt gave a piece of her mind to those bastards.

"I'm sorry for being a rat from the slums! You dragged me here against my will!" She shouted

Then, Priscilla joined up and talked against Felt.

"All of this long-winded blather couldn't be more tedious. Of course, I suppose you lived as a gutter rat because you could only manage tedious conversation…" Priscilla began to insult Felt too.

"Oh? If you want a fight, you've got one." Felt said as she glared at the orange-haired girl.

Priscilla gave a death glare at the little brat. "What insolence. Who do you think you are?" She asked seriously as her aura rose up a bit and was about to attack Felt with the red fan, but Reinhard was already kneeling in front of her.

"Many pardons, Priscilla-sama." He said as he bowed.

"What did you think you were about to do, in a hallowed place like this?" Emilia demanded as she gestured her arm to Felt while protecting her from Priscilla.

"I was only trying to teach an untrained little bitch her place." Priscilla said, covering her face with her fan.

"You won't even apologize?" Emilia asked, shocked.

"Then, will you also apologize for being born? You silver-haired half-elf."

Those insults hurt Emilia's feelings, hard, but she closed her eyes and relaxed. She remembered what Naruto told her about facing her fears and to not be scared of humans. She felt this warm feeling in her heart. The same feeling that gave her the courage to face it.

"You're right, I am a half-elf, but you have no right to discriminate me just because of that, nor do you have any right to call Felt-san a rat." She said.

"What do you say?" Priscilla asked as her eye twitched in obvious anger and glared at the half-elf that stood up to her.

Naruto watched Emilia carefully and stayed at the knight's side, prepared to move if the situation scaled.

"You're wrong about me, Priscilla, because I'm not afraid of you. You can act like you're the queen all you want. I don't care if I do get stuck as a witch or as Satella for the rest of my life. I'll never give up and still be King someday." Emilia said. "Someday, you'll regret your words and you'll be the one who will apologize to everyone."

After hearing her small speech of courage, Priscilla clenched her teeth in anger and gave a death stare to Emilia. "How dare you half-elf stand up to me!" She said as she raised her fan up.

The silver-haired girl began to shield herself for Priscilla's attack, but the pain never came. She saw Naruto in front of her stopping Priscilla's attack with a hand.

"Naruto?" Emilia surprised as the blond shinobi bowed to Priscilla with respect, imitating Reinhards actions before him.

"With all due respect, Priscilla-sama, I don't think you have a right to call her that." The shinobi said calmly with a sharp expression.

Priscilla gave him a scowl for defending the half-elf from her attack, but she calmed and folded her fan. She just huffed and looked away from them.

"Thank you, Naruto." Emilia said with a smile as he turned to her and gave her a head pat. He smiled, he was proud of her for protecting Felt and standing up to Priscilla, this meant that she was growing as a person.

"Are you all quite finished?" Miklotv wondered as he looked at them, but mostly he looked at the blond boy who defended Emilia. The boy walked back to his position in the knight's side.

"Then, royal selection candidates, please come forth."

* * *

It has been 10 minutes later since three candidates told everyone about their goal when they became the King.

Naruto listened to their speech the whole time. He didn't like Priscilla's goal because she's too prideful. Crusch's goal was quite interesting because she wanted to make the dragon forget the covenant it demanded. The kingdom doesn't belong to the dragon, but to them.

The speeches could be narrowed down to: Anastasia: "I want the country." Crusch: "The kingdom will be ours, not the dragons, consequences be damned." Priscilla: "The world has already declared that I will be the King, so lick my feet."

Oh right, he found out that Ferris is Crusch's knight. Shocking to see the cross dressing guy was actually a Royal Knight. And it wasn't Ferris, it was Felix Argyle, tough he doesn't seem to like that name.

He noticed something about Anastasia. He felt negative emotions from her after she gave her speech.

_"I wasn't able to have the feeling of sufficiency that I wanted. I want something bigger…something much bigger than before. I want this country."_

Her eyes were quite scary to Naruto. It was as if someone else was talking for her, those emotions were not hers, it was confusing. He wasn't sure if Julius knew about this oddity or not.

"A silver-haired half-elf."

"She's a half-demon! How filthy!"

Naruto heard the whispers from the nobles. Hearing them bad-mouthing Emilia, he started to get pissed, really pissed. His fists were clenched with anger, but he had to cool himself down. He didn't want to mess this chance, for Emilia.

Emilia is already on the stair and stopped in the center where the throne is. Her attendant, Roswaal stood next to her.

"I have only one wish. For all to be equal. I desire to create a nation where all citizens are equal!" Emilia finished with a bow.

"Finally, Felt-sama and her attendant, the knight Reinhard van Astrea." Marco said.

"Hang on! Don't get the wrong idea! I never said I'd be the next ruler…" Felt said.

"Are you saying you withdraw from the selection?" He asked.

"Damn right I am!"

"This is a joke! I've overlooked this because the situation is dire, but to drag it out this long is senseless!" One of the nobles said.

"He's right. The Astrea family offers a gutter rat to rule us, while Margrave Mathers endorses a half-devil? Utter foolishness! " Bordeaux said.

The word "half-devil" triggered Naruto in his mind as his aura started to leak out. His anger started to take over his mind and his memories of the past started to rush in. He was beyond displeased because of that one councilman and the nobles that discriminate against her for looking like Satella and being a witch. Emilia is a sweet and nice person and she had no connection with the witch they keep comparing her to.

"That silver-haired half-devil matches the Jealous Witch's appearance, as described for generations! Why do you not realize that even allowing her in the throne room is dreadful? Filthy woman-" Bordeaux gasped as he felt the disturbance in the air.

Not only him, but everyone could feel the aura too. Nasty. Terrible. Evil. Toxic. The aura silenced everyone and got them scared really hard. An invisible hand threatened to choke the life out of them, some even were knocked out alright, the temperature of the room felt as if a twisted bastardization of the sun was present with them at that very moment.

Emilia felt it too, but she managed to stand up and find the person who had that aura… She looked at the knight's side. The aura belonged to Naruto.

She couldn't see his face because his hair shadowed his face, but she didn't want to see him like that.

What's this feeling that emanated from him? So strong and furious. It had so much anger and it was scary.

_"Stay strong, Lia. Naruto doesn't mean to harm anyone." _Puck said.

The silver-haired girl knew that already because Naruto was trying to protect her from everyone, silencing them so they couldn't speak ill of her.

"These people sure have been saying whatever they want in front of Emilia. If you plan on continuing, I won't forgive all of you." Naruto said with a dark tone as he started to walk toward the center, but continued to glare at everyone. Mostly, he glared at the bald man and the nobles. "You all should be grateful to Emilia. All of you here haven't been destroyed because of Emilia's request. Though I'm not as patient and nice as Emilia is, who knows what I would do if Emilia wasn't here…"

Emilia rushed towards him before he did something very dangerous. "Naruto, it's all right! Stop this!" She said as she grabbed his hand to calm him down. It turned out unnecessary as Naruto was in control, and just took her hand and patted her head with his other. She saw him smile at her, and the feeling in the room disappeared just as quickly as it appeared.

"Try again, Emilia. Show them what I taught you. Like in the book." He said softly as he smiled. He poked her head with two fingers and Emilia recoiled.

Then, it flashed in her mind. Emilia watched multiple flashbacks of him. She doesn't remember living these moments, because she didn't, but she realized this were his memories, the ones of what he has been through.

_"I will lift the curse. If any kind of peace exists, I'll grab hold of it and never let it go. I never give up!"_

_"I'll keep walking it, no matter how much pain I go through along the way. That's what Naruto is about!"_

_"Don't try to be anyone but yourself. You can stop running… We're all waiting for you on this side…"_

_"Just give up trying to make me give up!"_

The flashback is done as Emilia's vision comes back as she looked at Naruto. Did he just show her some his memories?

"I believe in you, Emilia. Believe in yourself." He repeated the words he said to her before.

His strong voice reached in her heart and her mind. Emilia shook her head to get rid of her fear and nodded to Naruto.

She turned around to the councilmen as she took a deep breath. "My name is Emilia! I don't have a family name, so please call me Emilia! And, I have one request." She spoke. "I wish for this election to be fair! It's important to me for the election to be fair." Emilia poured her heart out to both the council and the nobles.

Though unknown to Emilia and the knights, the nobles and the council were still under the unforgiving hand of Naruto's killer instinct, hence why no one spoke against Emilia and her request, some even nodding frantically in hopes for the sickly feeling to end.

Emilia turned around to the crowd as she continued to give her speech.

"I'm still inexperienced compared to the other candidates. There's a lot I don't know, and there's still a lot for me to learn. However, I understand our world is cursed, which starts the cycles of war, conflict, and hatred that occupies the world! That's why I'll continue to do my best! I will lift this curse! If any kind of peace exists, I'll grab hold and never let it go! I refuse to quit!"

She finished her speech with a salute. Her eyes were full of fire and spirit. The audience was speechless, the knights were awed and moved by her words, while some of the nobles still couldn't speak at all, though the word 'curse' was resonating in their minds.

"By the way, Emilia-sama." Miklotov spoke as he pointed a slightly trembling finger at the blond man. "Who is that gentleman over there?"

"Huh? Um, well, he's…" Emilia said nervously as she looked at Naruto. However, she's wasn't nervous anymore. So she spoke loud and clear "His name is Naruto Uzumaki."

Naruto innocently and with a cheeky smile did an exaggerated bow to the sages, and spoke passively. "A pleasure."


	9. Chapter 9

**This chapter has been edit by ****XPartan Caos. All the credits to the editor for grammar and spelling.**

* * *

"Naruto Uzumaki." Miklotv said with an interested expression as he looked at the blond who gave everyone quite scare. "Naruto-san, what's your occupation? I don't recognize you, so you must not be a known knight." He said this assuming the protective aura he had for Emilia was due to knights' loyalty towards their master, and the fact that he was standing with the knights.

The blond shinobi put his hands behind his head with a smile. "Let's just say I'm a guest at Roswaal's mansion." He said with a lighthearted laugh, as if the situation they were just in never happened.

More than one person looked at him with disbelief, how could someone just change their mood so radically.

Emilia sighed with relief at Naruto's new behavior now that the insults that were thrown at her no longer heard. She didn't like his action earlier, but… she admitted him making a scene gave her enough time to once again gain her courage back.

"Hey Naruto." She called as she walked toward him with a hand in her chest, easing her breathing.

"What's up?" He asked.

"Thank you." She said softly with a smile as she walked back to the center.

Naruto smiled softly as he went back to the knight's side, but he noticed the stares from everyone. He blinked in confusion before he remembered the little joke that he played to the nobles saying that he would do something unspeakable to them.

He was amused, their faces were hilarious, and he taught them a great lesson for bad-mouthing Emilia, a win-win situation in his book. Did they seriously believe that he would destroy entire castle except Emilia, if so, that would be laughable.

_"That taught them a lesson."_ He thought smugly.

**"But what about the feeling you got from the girl in the white dress?" Matatabi asked out of the blue, reminding him of more pressing matters.**

_"...That's a difficult question to answer with the lack of evidence, we can't just point fingers to her and call her evil just because she has a bad personality, much less now that she is a candidate to rule the land. And the worst part is, I don't know how she became a candidate. If it was an evil feeling that I got from her then I cannot allow her to become the King."_

His negative sensing ability picked something up and it felt evil, but it was so fast that he couldn't determine whether it was a bad thought that passed through the girl's head or it was something far more sinister.

**"It felt familiar, didn't it?" Kurama asked.**

_"Yeah, almost like a spirit creature, similar to the ones that Emilia summons. Maybe, Anastasia is being influenced by a spirit creature, can they even do that?"_ Naruto thought as he looked at Anastasia quizzically, something was definitely wrong here.

He was thinking about the recent developments when a light rumbling sensation reached him, that he would've missed if it wasn't for his heightened senses.

Just before the royal election began, smoke rose from the ground all over the candidates. Felt's scream was heard as Reinhard quickly reacted and cleared the smoke with a simple swing of his sheathed sword. The absence of smoke revealed Rom carrying Felt.

"Old man Rom?" Naruto was surprised, how did Rom enter the throne. Looking down he was further surprised to see a hole in the ground, which would explain how he got inside.

He saw the knights unsheathed their swords and run toward Rom. The knights tackled him down on the ground as they tied his hands with rope. Naruto thought Reinhard brought the two with him, and by the looks of it, he was wrong.

"I don't know who you are, but for infiltrating the castle, you must die-" Marco was shocked as he saw the knights' swords be split right in the middle by an unseen force.

It was Naruto who broke their swords in one swing with his wind covered kunai.

Emilia was just stunned when she saw Naruto stop the knights from killing Rom. "Naruto stop! You'll only make this worse!" She yelled.

"What is the meaning of this?! Aren't you the follower of Emilia-sama?!" One of the knights spoke.

"I'm sorry, but I'm not allowing you to kill this man that is family to Felt, one of the candidates to become the King." Naruto said seriously as he looked at the knights. "If you do, you'll have to face the consequences."

Rom looked up in confusion at Naruto. Even though he knew him, he couldn't understand why he was going so far to save him.

_"Family?"_ Emilia thought with shock as she heard those words from Naruto.

"Fine! I'll do your stupid royal selection!" Felt accepted as she pointed her finger at Rom. "That old man is my family, so treat him with care!"

"Very well." Marco said, now that the little miss was participating once again in the election the old man was untouchable unless Felt said otherwise.

Naruto sheathed his kunai and watched the knights carry Rom to the treatment room. On the second thought, he realized something as he looked at Reinhard with narrowed eyes. "Was this part of your plan?" He asked.

The timing for Rom's surprising appearance made it seem like something pointless and out of the blue, Rom had no reason to appear and take Felt, it simply made no sense.

Naruto smirked back and he walked back to the knight's side. He didn't buy a single word spoken by Reinhard.

"Attention everyone! All of the candidates are finally here. The royal selection will now begin!"

* * *

"So, it's true. Emilia told me that you're one of the capital's most brilliant users of water magic. That means you can use healing magic, correct?" Naruto asked.

"Yes, the water mana covers fields such as life and healing." Reinhard said as he made a hand gesture to Ferris. "You were right about him. He's one of the best healers in the capital."

"That's awesome." Naruto said in amazement. He didn't know that water magic had healing properties because ninja used normally used water to cut their enemy to pieces.

In his world, the medical ninja use healing jutsu that heals people with chakra. However, in this world, the healer uses water magic and that heals people. It'll be very interesting if Naruto could bring Ferris to his dimension to meet the best medical ninja, Sakura Haruno.

"So, Ferris…" Naruto said as he crossed his arms and looked at him. He backed away from him because he's a guy, the mental scars Haku left him acting up. "Tell me about Crusch. She doesn't look like the other candidates."

"Ahh… you have good eyes. You see… Crusch-sama isn't like the others because she's a skilled swordswoman. She'll show no mercy." Ferris said confidently in his lady's abilities.

"I see." The blond said, it seemed they had a warrior running for King, that would explain her personality.

"Naruto, nice job you did back there." Reinhard said as Naruto looked at him in confusion. "Everyone was disrespecting Emilia-sama because of her appearance. You silenced them and they showed respect to her immediately. I'm happy you stood up for her. You're a great follower."

"Sorry about that. I didn't mean to scare everyone." Naruto chuckled nervously as he scratched his back of the head. Yeah, he scared everyone pretty good with Kurama's bloodlust.

Gosh, he hated those people who disliked Emilia just because she looks like Satella, a bunch of pretentious pricks. They made him pissed off at them.

"So, Naruto. I heard you already met Ferris and my grandfather at the mansion." Reinhard said.

"Grandfather?" He asked, not reminding meeting someone like Reinhard before.

"His name is Wilhelm van Astrea. You might remember his name." The red-haired knight said. "I'm his grandson."

Naruto blinked his eyes at Reinhard, starting to realize he's Wilhelm's grandson by looking at his eyes. Both of their eyes are the same and their presences were very similar. "Really?! He's your grandfather! I didn't know that!" He said, having had more important things to think about.

Reinhard chuckled at his reaction. "That's alright, Naruto. Ferris told me that my grandfather had an interest in you." He said.

The blond shinobi was surprised that Wilhelm had an interest in him. He didn't know how to respond but he should go meet Wilhelm again if he had a chance. If only to see what had Reinhard's grandpa so interested.

"I'm sure that old man Will will love to meet you again." Ferris said with a smile. "If you're free, come visit Crusch's house. Oh and don't worry about her. I explained to her that you're a good person, so it should be ok."

"That'll be nice. I will come visit if I have the chance." Naruto said

* * *

"Wow, it fits me perfectly." Naruto smirked as he looked at his new clothes after he brought them from the armor shop.

He wore a black combat sweater with an orange line like a zipper, though his sleeves were pulled up, it was hot in the capital. Unlike in his world, he decided to wear an orange light armor beneath the sweater. He wore orange pants with a brown belt over his chest.

**"Not gonna lie. You look badass." Son said, having seen his fair share of warriors.**

_"Gotta change my style for this world."_ Naruto thought as he stretched his body out and didn't feel any problem. His new uniform wasn't bad at all.

He thought his new armor would be too heavy for him to use in combat, since what they did in the capital was mostly bulky knight armor, but it felt very light and comfortable. Thankfully, he trained himself in his world because he lifted some weights and got advice from his friend, Rock Lee, so even if it was heavy he could still fight at his best.

**"Alright, Naruto. Let's talk about the Witch Cult." Kurama said seriously, reminding him once again that he had enemies that needed his attention.**

_"Yeah, if I'm correct about their plan, is that they're coming after Emilia because she's a half-elf."_ Naruto thought as he sat down on the chair. _"Remember, they served Satella, so they're after her because she looks like her, maybe they think she's Satella's reincarnation or something like that."_

**"What's your plan?" Chomei asked.**

_"I'm going to have use Sennin mode to search them before they do something stupid. They might also target a village, like what they did to Rem and Ram's.."_

**"You need to warn the villagers that the witch cultists will possibly go after them, and tell them to be on the lookout. Plus, you need to tell Emilia and the others, if there's someone that needs to know this is her." Isobu said, worried about Naruto's nice friend.**

_"Yeah, I know that. That's my plan. But I won't tell Roswaal, I still don't trust him."_ Naruto thought before he heard someone knock on the door. He walked towards it and opened it. "Emilia?"

"Hey, Naruto…"

The blond shinobi blinked in slight surprise at her appearance, but he narrowed his eyes at the tone she used to greet him. She sounded very concerned, even hesitant. He didn't do any dangerous today because he's in the capital. Well, he used Kurama's chakra to scare everyone in the royal meeting, so that might be why she was here?

"I like your new uniform. It matches you." Emilia said with a little smile as she looked at his new uniform.

"Thanks. Come on in." Naruto said as he stepped aside and let her enter the room. He closed the door and turned to her. "Emilia, what's up?"

Emilia didn't say anything to him when she walked past him until she stopped at the bed in front. She swallowed nervously and her face glowed a pink hue. "Okay, sit here." She said as she pointed her finger at the ground.

"Huh? Can't I just sit on the bed or a chair?" Naruto asked amused as he crossed his arms.

"Just sit." She ordered as she sat on the ground and patted the spot next to her.

Naruto stared at Emilia in confusion, but he just walked and sat on the ground with her figuring it wouldn't do any harm. Both of them sat together in silence, not uttering a word, and this was beginning to be a very awkward situation. Naruto was going to speak first, but her hand grabbed his hand and pulled him down on her lap.

This sensation under his head… He looked it up at Emilia. Her face hovered above his.

"I know this position is weird. And… it tickles." The silver-haired girl said nervously as she laughed a little at how it felt to have his spiky hair in her lap.

"You're letting me rest in your lap?" He blinked in surprise as his face glowed a red hue.

"Don't say it aloud! It's embarrassing! And no looking up here…" She said as she poked her finger on his cheek to make him look away from her and covered his eyes with her hand. "C-Close your eyes."

"But, you're the one that pulled me in your lap…" He said with a blush. He couldn't help it, but her lap feels very nice and soft, like a pillow… "Though… What's this about?"

"I want to talk with you, Naruto." Emilia said with a smile as she started to play his spiky hair with her hands. She stroked his hair gently and got surprised that it felt so soft, like a foxe's furry. "Why are you doing all of this for me?"

Naruto looked down at the ground for seconds and he turned his head to look up at her. It's time to tell her the truth. "I hate people who bad-mouth you because you're a half-elf. I don't want you to go through that life, not like I did." He answered.

"Like you did?" She asked.

"Yes…" Naruto said as his face changed to a serious expression. He looked at her and his hair no longer having Emilia's soft hands covering them. "Do you trust me? Can you keep a secret what I'm about to tell you?"

Emilia nodded to him, but she didn't know why his face was so serious. "Of course, I trust you, and I won't tell anyone." She said.

Naruto took a deep breath before he began to tell her about his life. "Seventeen years ago, in the day I was born, my village was attacked by the Kyuubi, a sentient mass of pure destructive power and hate, some even considered it to be a demon. The leader of the village used a sealing technique in exchange for his life to seal Kyuubi on a newborn child." He said as the silver-haired girl looked at him carefully. "Emilia, that child was me, it was me who was tasked to keep the Kyuubi sealed away and to bear the hate of those that had lost their families to this being."

The half-elf widened her eyes with a shock when he told her the newborn child was him. His village was attacked by the Kyuubi and the leader sealed a demon on a newborn child. So…the child was Naruto…

The leader placed the Kyuubi on him after he was given birth. That sounded so cruel horrible. Why did the leader place the seal on him?

"Did you remember the yellow magic you saw me use? That magic wasn't mine. It belongs to my friend, Kurama. He's called Bijuu and he's the Kyuubi. Have you heard that word before?" Naruto asked.

"No, I've never heard of that type of creature before. But how come, if it was such a powerful, why do people never talk about it?" She asked.

"Because Kyuubi didn't exist here. Emilia, I'm not from here. I came come from a different dimension, one where shinobi lives and uses chakra." Naruto said.

Hearing the truth from him, Emilia was once again shocked. "Y-You're not from here." She said.

"It's true. In my world, everyone uses chakra to use techniques called Ninjutsu. It's very similar to your world, just not with magic." Naruto said.

Emilia couldn't believe he told her the truth about his origins. Jumping from rooftop to rooftop, running too fast, and the yellow chakra… It all made sense now. His… His abilities were new to her because he comes from a different world.

"Why are you telling me all of this? Your secret." She wondered.

"Because…" Naruto paused as he struggled to tell her that he'll leave her behind and return to his world. Should he tell her truth or not? "Because I was summoned here to protect your world, or at least that's what I'll do." He settled with a not yet.

"I-I see." Emilia said. "You said Kurama is your friend… Why did he attack your village?"

"It was Kurama who attacked the village, but he didn't want to do. He did because someone controlled his mind and ordered him to attack my village."

"Then, why did the village leader sealed him inside you?"

"The leader of the village was my father. He placed the seal in me because he knew I could learn to use that curse and use it to become stronger." He smiled as he pictured his parents. "To tell you the truth, I don't remember what my parent looks like. I've been an orphan child, and I was always on my own. You see… it was similar to your life. People hated me and treated me badly because I had the Kyuubi. They were afraid of me-"

He was cut off from continuing his story by a hand that covered his mouth. Naruto looked up and saw Emilia dropped the tears from her eyes. He could hear her sobbing, so he stops telling her his life, figuring it hit home too close.

Yes, he knew that the story would hurt her feelings because their pasts were in various aspects, the same. Their lives suck because they went through a lot, but they could both come out on top, and even stronger than before. Without saying any words, Naruto reached his hand up to her face and used his thumb to clean her tears.

"No more… No more…" Emilia sobbed as she shook her head. "I am so sorry about your life. I'm really selfish."

She didn't know his life was like hers. Both of them went through pain and suffering. They're the same in various aspects, but Naruto's life was worse than hers. He was an orphan child that had the Kyuubi inside of him, he most likely grew with people hating him, and what the people hated him for was something not generations ago, but it was something recent with their hate and wounds fresh.

Poor Naruto… Emilia didn't want him to continue telling her his life, it broke her heart.

"No, you're not. Look at me and I'm going to tell you the best part." Naruto said as the half-elf looked at him with her vision blurred with tears. He continued to clean her tears. "In the end, I finally got to meet my parents. I never hated my mom or my dad. I know that I was loved before the Kyuubi was inside of me. So I'm happy. I'm glad that they were my parents. I made friends, and the curse that plagued me was used to better myself, and to be hailed as a hero by my village."

This feeling from him, it melted Emilia's heart and caught her by surprise. Even though his parents placed Kyuubi inside of their son, he stills forgave them for what they did to him. Naruto had such a good soul and was such a good person from the bottom of his heart.

"You never told me about your mother. Can you tell me about her?" Emilia asked.

"Well, she's strong, kind, and…scary…" He said with a sweatdrop.

"Scary? Why do you say that?"

"You have no idea… Mothers are scary…"

When he said that, Emilia giggle at him. Naruto was too silly in how he described his mom. "You're too silly, Naruto." She said with a slight smile.

"Of course, I am silly. I'm the guy who can make you laugh about anything." Naruto smiled as he made her giggles again. It was nice to hear her cute giggling and to see that the flow of tears was no longer there. "Do you have another question, Emilia?"

"Last one. You said Kurama is a nine-tailed beast. Are they more of him?" She asked as she yawned.

"Good ears. Yes, they are nine of Bijuu. They're inside of me."

Emilia widened her eyes with shock, she was making this far too many times, though talking with Naruto made her do strange things. "Really?! Then, why? Why did you accept them?" She asked.

"Because they're my friends and my partners. They trust me with their powers." Naruto said, chuckling slightly at the fight Matatabi had with Kurama about not weeping on his shoulder.

"I understand. They seem to think highly of you." Emilia said as she stopped stroking his hair and the blond guy got up from her lap. Then, she yawned again as she stretched out her arms.

"You should go sleep, Emilia. Tomorrow, we're heading back-" He paused as a hand touched his cheek and made him blink. He found himself staring at violet eyes.

Naruto can see so many emotions in there, so many to the point he couldn't read all of them. Her eyes were beautiful to him with such a purple color. Jiraiya once said that his eyes made his emotions very clear, that such expressive eyes were very unique, clearly he hadn't met Emilia. The feeling on his cheek from her hand is so soft and warm. It made him grab her hand with his, not letting it go.

The half-elf couldn't help but look at him with a sense of sadness; the look on his face showed kindness, respect, and dignity. For some reason, Emilia started to understand his feelings and his past. There was a reason why she found sadness in his eyes before, because Naruto lost everything who was precious to him. His parents are dead because they sacrificed their lives for him, and he left the world he was from behind.

It seemed Puck was right to assume Naruto's past. Not many young people loved their home and family, but Naruto did. Looking at his eyes, she saw pain but also experience. How long had he been fighting?

"Emilia."

Emilia heard his gentle voice as his hand rose to touch her cheek, it made her shiver at first, but she allowed the contact moments later. As Naruto's fingers brushed across her face, her blush intensified various levels. She lowered her face to look at him clearly.

Naruto and Emilia's foreheads practically touched. Closing their eyes, both felt their emotions. Both of them shared their feelings and memories to show each other that they were similar. Loss. Suffering. Pain. Hope. As the two pulled away from each other, they looked into each other's eyes, content with being with the one that resembled them so much.

The blond shinobi was the first who pulled away, but two hands stopped him as he started to look at Emilia until she leaned in closer and kissed his forehead. His voice was caught in his throat as the half-elf pulled away from him with a smile on her face.

"Goodnight, Naruto. I hope you have beautiful dreams." She said as she stood up and walked toward the door to leave his room.

After she left, Naruto didn't know what to say. His eyes started to have tears as he touched them and looked at them as if looking at an alien.

These tears were real, but why? He just got a kiss on his forehead by Emilia. Has she experienced this before? Why did such a simple gesture meant so much?

* * *

Emilia went in her room and closed the door behind her. She jumped into her bed and pulled her blanket up that she covered her body. She couldn't believe what she just did back there with Naruto.

Emilia learned the truth about Naruto. He came from another world.

The silver-haired girl looked at her hand that touched Naruto's cheek. The feeling that remained was nice and warm like the other time. She saw his azure eyes full of feelings, and understood what life he had been through.

When Emilia remembered Naruto touched her cheek, her face glowed a red hue and she began to cover herself with the blanket and roll in her bed. She was too embarrassed and almost died from that.

_"I can't believe it…"_ Emilia thought, remembering she kissed Naruto's forehead. She didn't know why she did that, but she thought that could give him a good dream?

* * *

"Where the hell am I?" Naruto asked himself as he's standing in a dark void with nothing in sight. "Kurama? Everyone?"

No one answered him. He tried to use Bijuu telepathy to communicate with them, but it didn't work.

This dark void was so cold, so quiet.

"Naruto…"

A quiet, female voice called out to Naruto. The voice was sweet and pleasant, but the feeling he got from it was cold.

"Who's there?" He asked as he looked around again in the dark void while he's walking. He found a figure.

The blond shinobi stayed sharp as he began to walk toward it. Then, he saw familiar shadowy arms fly toward him, beginning to touch his cheeks as he tried to evade them. They weren't trying to make him feel pain. But the feeling he got from them. It felt so cold, like they've been stuck in ice for a long time.

**"I love you"**

Hearing the familiar female voice speaking, Naruto finally remembered it. Plus, now he could hear her voice clearly. "This voice." He said as he began to run toward the person without a second thought.

**"I'm…sorry."**

Naruto was surprised when the female apologized to him. Her voice was sad and in pain. Why did she say sorry? Without hesitance, he ran much faster than his normal speed. At that moment, he heard a cracking noise, he looked around to see that the dark void started to break. A bright light shined through the crack and beamed at the ground.

Then, he realized that the whole place was breaking apart like glass and it wouldn't let him go near the female. "Wait!" He yelled, but it was too late for him.

The dark void cracked apart and turned into a bright light. His eyes were opened by the sunlight and the carriage's noise assaulted his ears. He looked around and saw a silver-haired girl hovering above him. She was using her lap as a pillow for his head and her hands were gently combing through his hair.

"Emilia?" Naruto asked.

"You fell asleep while traveling back to our mansion. So…I used my lap for you as a pillow…" Emilia said with a blush.

"Oh… Thanks." Naruto replied with a blush as he got up from her lap, damn… her lap was very soft, like a divine pillow.

That was a strange dream, but it felt so real. The dark void was so cold. The female voice was filled with sadness and suffering. She seemed like she knew him from before.

"Naruto?" Emilia asked in concern as she looked at him.

"I'm fine, Emilia. How much till we arrive?" He asked.

"Almost there, Naruto-kun." Rem smiled as she glanced back to the blond man, more focused on her riding back to the mansion. Then, she suddenly felt something dangerous coming toward her.

She looked around the area, but there were no enemies. The wind stopped for a few seconds. The sound of birds chirping scared as they flew away from the forest was loud. This was a warning. It warned her something is coming at them.

"Rem?"

Rem shook her head and looked at them. Naruto and Emilia looked at her with worry on their faces.

"Are you okay?" Emilia asked as Naruto changed seats to get closer to Rem.

"Do you feel something?" He asked as he detected worried emotions from her. He knows something wrong with her, or at least troubling her.

The blue-haired maid nodded to him. "Yes, I felt a disturbance." She answered.

"Disturbance?" Emilia asked as she sat next to Naruto. "What do you mean?"

"We'll talk at the mansion. My sister and Beatrice need to know this, too."

* * *

"So, you think the mansion is going to get attacked by intruders?" Naruto asked.

Everyone gathered in the mansion when they returned from the capital, except Roswaal who wasn't here. The clown guy had to go somewhere else because someone messaged him that they needed him to go there.

"Yes, Naruto-kun. I felt something that will attack here, but I'm not so sure when will they come." Rem said.

Naruto knew that the Witch Cult were after Emilia because she's a half-elf. But, the problem is he doesn't know when they will come. They could come any day, attack the village first before going to the mansion.

The conversation was serious because the Witch Cult will kill anyone, even the children. He couldn't relax until he knows that the threat of the Witch Cult was dealt with. However, he can use Sennin mode and try to sense them, either by their energy signature or by their evil feelings.

"Naruto?"

Emilia's voice interrupted his thoughts so he looked at her. "Oh yes, what is it?" He asked.

"You were silent for a few seconds. Are you okay?" She asked.

"I'm okay, Emila." He replied as he looked at the group. "Rem, I think I know who is coming… You probably won't like it."

"The Witch Cult." Ram said.

Naruto felt pure anger just oozing from every pore in their bodies for what they did to them. They really hate them a lot.

"This could be a big problem." Puck said with a serious look on his face as he flew out from Emilia's necklace. "The Witch Cult will kill whoever they see as a threat. They sometimes torture and kill just for fun. We can't let them destroy the village and…" He looked at Lia.

"Me?" Emilia looked at Puck in surprise. He nodded, looking at Naruto and the others.

"Yes, Lia. They're here because of your resemblance to Satella and your status as a half-elf." He said.

"Wait a minute…" Naruto said as he looked at Puck with narrowed eyes. "You didn't tell her that the Witch Cult was after her. Why?"

The cat spirit lied on Emilia's hand, and looked at Naruto as he pawed the back of his furry head. "I understand you're getting upset with me because I didn't tell Lia about this. If Lia asked me, I would have told her, but she didn't ask." He said.

"But still… You should've just warned her about the Witch Cult." The blond shinobi said as he crossed his arms.

"We can have this conversation later." Beatrice said. "We have the Witch Cult coming here."

"Can you guys beat the Witch Cult?" Naruto asked curiously as he looked at them. Of course, they know how to fight, but he had a bad feeling about all this.

"We can fight, but I don't think we can take them down on our own." Rem said as she looked at Puck.

"Puck is the only one who can fight them."

So, there's a chance that they can win against the Witch Cult with Puck, but they didn't know how powerful they were nor how many troops they had. Honestly, he and Puck could pretty much take them down on their own. But, what if they come at night, that means Puck can't fight because of his limit, he wouldn't be able to defend the village. Though, he preferred working with Puck, even though he could clone himself all it took was one hit to kill the clones, and as previously thought they didn't know their power nor their numbers.

Well, Naruto is here with them and the battle shouldn't be that hard without Puck. The blond shinobi could do anything to destroy the Witch Cult without letting them near the village. He didn't want to tell them the truth except Emilia who knew everything about him, he wasn't ready. Anyways, he'll have to tell them the truth in time. Just in case he wouldn't use his stronger techniques, they would cause too much damage, make people make questions, and that would put him on the spotlight.

"Hold on. What if they come tonight, I won't be active." Puck said.

"What should we do? Should we contact Roswaal-sama?" Ram asked.

"We don't need his help." Beatrice said as everyone looked at her. Her eyes were serious as she looked at Naruto. "We have Naruto, so we don't have to worry, right?"

"Right… We probably won't need his help." Naruto said. Damn, the little girl caught him really good with her eagle eyes. "If Puck can't make it tonight, I can destroy all of them."

"That's impossible. I don't believe you." Ram said.

"He's telling the truth." Emilia said as the maid looked at her. "Naruto told me the truth about his powers. I believe in him."

"I believe him too, sis." Rem said.

Ram looked at her sister's eyes. They're deadly serious and full of trust towards Naruto. Though, he did save Rem and stopped her berserk form, very easy she might add.

"Tell us, Naruto." Puck said. "What should we do?"

"Before we do this, I want you guys to know about me. I told Emilia and Beatrice because I could trust them, but I didn't tell them about their powers…my powers." Naruto said as he looked at everyone.

"Emilia and Beatrice… I told you two that I have 9 Bijuus inside of me, but you guys should know about this. Once I have 9 Bijuus, I can use the 9 elements they're aligned with."

"WHAT?!" Everyone screamed at the same time.

Naruto plugged his ears several seconds after hearing their scream. "Yeah, I can use nine elements from the nine Bijuus. They're powerful, but their chakras are dangerous. I want you guys to remember that or else I'll end up hitting someone by accident."

"Th-That's incredible." Emilia was amazed. "What type of elements?"

"Sand, lava, boil, lightning, water, fire, wind-"

"Ok, that's enough." Puck said as he made a paw gesture to stop him. Damn, the blond human was a lot more powerful than Roswaal.

So, Puck was right about Naruto all long. This human revealed to them that had 9 Bijuus inside of him, whatever those were, maybe spirits, and can use their powers to wipe out the Witch Cult. Using all of the 9 Bijuus' powers, that sounded like a really powerful force. He did remember the aura Naruto unleashed the day before in the throne room to shut everyone up. That must be from one of the 9 Bijuus.

The cat spirit is going to be honest about the blond shinobi. If that boy was telling the truth, there's a chance he could take him down with his true form. Maybe Naruto can defeat Roswaal.

"I think we should tell the villagers about the Witch Cult." Emilia suggested. "It'll be better to warn them that they're coming here, and if possible evacuate them."

"I see your point, Emilia. I can summon my clones to guard them, just in case." Naruto said.

"But evacuating all the villagers to the capital will be difficult. Half of them will go to the capital." Ram said. "I will lead the other half to safety in the Sanctuary."

"Sanctuary?" Naruto wondered, he never heard of that place before.

"It's an old village. If I'm right about this, Roswaal-sama will be heading there now." Ram said.

"Good." He said. "I think I have an idea."

"What is it?"

* * *

"That's strange…" Naruto said, checking for the Witch Cult around in the forest. He didn't found any of them, and they didn't come last night. However, he still stayed on guard.

There was no telling when they would come, if it was today or not was impossible to tell without their signatures. They could probably ambush the village if Naruto went too far into the forest, so he goes back to the village and checked how the villagers were doing. The good thing was that Puck can fight as it was early in the morning.

"H-How was it? No Witch Cult?" One of the villagers asked.

"No, I can't find any of them, but don't worry. I'll keep on searching." Naruto said.

"Do you think they will come here today? What if they target us first?" Milde asked panicking as her body shook with fear. She had to stay here until the carriages that would escort them to the capital arrived, though it was becoming increasingly difficult.

After their plan of action had been decided, Naruto and Emilia told the whole village that the Witch Cult was coming. Everyone was scared, why wouldn't they? Those people killed for enjoyment, not to mention the sick tortures they could be subjected to if the cultists weren't in a forgiving mood.

Naruto understood why they were scared, they didn't want to end up like the other villages in the past. But, they needed to calm down and not to be afraid of them. These people destroyed Rem and Ram's village… That just pissed him off. Not only were Rem and Ram in danger, Emilia was too.

_'May the blessing of the spirits be with you." Emilia prayed as her hand was placed on Naruto's heart. __"Be careful, Naruto."_

_"Believe me, Emilia. I won't let you down." Naruto said with a smile as he looked at Rem and the others. "I will let you people know when I'm done searching."_

_"Be careful, Naruto-kun." Rem said._

_"Don't die." Beatrice._

Naruto chuckled at the last words from Beatrice when he had the flashback, she sure had a bad time communicating her feelings.

**"They're coming. I can sense them." Kurama warned.**

_"Right. I'm going to warn them."_ Naruto thought with a nod as he planned to walk back to the mansion, seeing as the carriages had already arrived, but he saw the man in normal clothes with brown hair and green eyes, carrying crates and barrels into a carriage, alone. However, he seemed tired for carrying the heavy things.

"Hey, let me help you!" He said as he rushed toward him with a smile and helped him to pick the things for him. After they put the barrels and crates into the carriage, the villager man thanked him for helping him.

"Thank you so much." The man said wiping his brow.

"No problem-ttebayo. What's your name?" Naruto asked.

"My name is Ketty Muttart. I'm a merchant-" Ketty was silenced by a sharp pain the middle of his chest, he looked down to see that the still smiling Naruto had plunged a kunai with blue energy around it directly into his chest, he coughed blood as he got slashed in half by a swing of the kunai.

He widened his eyes with shock at his swift defeat since his brain still worked. His trembling eyes looked at Naruto with hate and fear. Only to receive a sandal to the face that ended his life.

The blond shinobi won't let the cultists live because they murdered villagers and tortured children, he believed in second chances but this people were far too gone in the darkness. He will find them and eliminate every one of them, letting them hurt people wasn't an option. His mission was to save the world and protect people from evil.

Naruto heard a scream from somewhere in the village. Without second thoughts, he rushed to the scream until he saw the cultists holding the villagers with their daggers on the necks. He was right all along. The witch cultists are using the villagers as their hostages probably using them for Emilia to get here. Before the fight starts his eyes narrowed in confusion at them.

The cultists are bowing to Naruto… They don't seem to want to fighting him, only focusing on the villagers.

_"They think that I'm one of them because I smell like a witch." _Naruto thought as his hold on the kunai tightens, before he relaxed and showed a smirk at cultists. "Clones, do your work."

The cultists were confused as they looked at him, but the villagers that were being held vanished and appeared behind them. They stabbed the cultists on the back of their necks with their kunais, killing them instantly. The "villagers" transformed back into Naruto's appearance and gave their leader thumbs up.

The villagers were already gone, everyone in this village were actually clones.

"Well, that was easy." The clone said.

"Yeah, the other clones should-" Naruto heard screams from other places in the village. "There it is.

The other clones killed the cultists."

"Now what?" The other clone asked.

"You guys stay and guard. There'll be more of them." Naruto said as he opened a mirror call metia.

* * *

"Okay, we'll be careful." Emilia said as she closed the metia mirror after she's done talking with Naruto. "They're coming."

"Yeah, I know." The clone Naruto said as he stood between Emilia and Rem on a tree. They're outside of the mansion a couple meters away.

The other clones are in other places where the cultists were going, so they'll be fine without worry.

Now, the clone, Emilia, and Rem are focusing on the enemies who were coming in this direction.

Rem sensed their auras almost approaching their position as she gripped the Morningstar and nodded to her allies. Emilia was prepared with ice magic and had Puck with her.

The two girls are fully prepared for the cultists, the clone Naruto looked at them, he better get ready, too.

"Naruto." Puck said.

"Yeah?"

"What's that?" He asked as he looked at the brown gourd on his waist.

"You'll see."

When they saw the witch cultists running past them, the clone Naruto hit the signal, and Emilia launched pre-prepared ice spears at them. Rem and the clone Naruto jumped down on the ground, starting to attack them in close-combat.

Thanks to Naruto's training, and meditation Rem was able to control her oni mode well without losing control. Also, her movements have improved, as seen when she dodged the several daggers from the cultists as she swung Morningstar at their heads making them literary pop like balloons. She then shot multitudes of ice spikes from her other hand at the rest of the group.

Emilia moved on to another tree because the cultists spotted her and aimed at her by throwing their daggers. The half-elf continued to shoot ice spears at them and called out Puck's name. The spirit creature deflected the daggers all the while shooting at the cultists with ice crystals. Then, the two landed on the ground safely.

The clone Naruto jumped into the air, and slashed one cultist down with his kunai. He goes after the others who were targeting him. The witch cultists all used fireball magic on him while he's charging at them, but suddenly sand grabbed their arms with an iron like grip.

Then, sand crushed their arms making them scream and stop their fireball magic. The blond shinobi dashed toward them and slashed them by several swings with his kunai. These cultists were down, but there were still two left.

"Sabaku Kyū (Sand Coffin)!" He yelled as the sands shot toward the two last guys and trapped them into it. Emilia and the other two looked at Naruto who controlled the sand. "Sabaku Sōsō (Sand Burial)!" He clenches his fists to cause the sands to crush them.

He sighed with relief that he and his friends defeated the cultists without letting them kill the villagers.

The clone Naruto had a good report from Kurama. His relieved smile was shown because the other clones exterminated the cultists. The members of the Witch Cult were dead.

"Good news. My clones exterminated the other witch cultists." He said with a smile as he looked at his friends. "We'll be fine here."

"Th-That's good." Emilia smiled, feeling a little bad because she was celebrating someone's death, they deserved it though.

"While the plan went without a hitch, we can't stay here after we killed the Witch Cult. It's not safe." Puck said.

"Yeah, I see your point. Hey, Rem, when are we going to get our ride?" The clone Naruto asked.

"Well, you told the leader of the village that you need a ride for us. So, it'll be here in time." Rem said.

"Good, good."

* * *

The real Naruto was running to find the base of the Witch Cult and the leader of the group. His eyes weren't sapphire anymore but they were yellow, with toad-like pupils with orange pigmentation around his eyes.

He had good reports from his clones and Emilia, saying that they defeated the cultists. That was an easy and quick battle. Naruto was surprised to learn that one of the Witch cultist bowed to one of his clone because he has the witch miasma thinking he was one of them.

Anyways, the cultists are dead for good and their leader is the last person.

**"You ready?" Kurama asked.**

_"Damn right I am."_ Naruto thought as he went out of the forest and found the cave where the enemies came out of. He then deactivated the Sennin mode because his natural energy could blow his cover off, if his witch miasma didn't do it first.

There wasn't anybody there in the cave as he sensed for their mana, so maybe all of the cultists were gone already. Or they died already to him and his friends, all except their leader. Naruto sensed an aura coming from inside a path in the cave.

A person came out of the cave with a creepy smile. His skin was a sickly white. He had short dark green hair and his emotionless eyes were gray. He wore a black, green, and red robe along with clerical attire. When he saw Naruto, his smile got a lot bigger.

"I am a Sin Archbishop representing Sloth, Betelgeuse Romanee-Conti! At your service!"


	10. Chapter 10

**This chapter has been edit by the same editor, XPartan Caos. All the credits to the editor for grammar, editing, and spelling.**

* * *

"I am a Sin Archbishop representing Sloth, Petelgeuse Romanee-Conti! At your service!" Petelgeuse said as he bowed to Naruto.

Naruto was aware that he had witch miasma on him, the possibility that he was being confused with a Witch Cult member was pretty high, so quickly weighing his options he decided to play along, for now. Beating this guy was important and had to be done, but he had questions he wanted answers.

"A pleasure to meet you, great Sin Archbishop, sir. I see you were waiting for me." He said as he bowed to him in return.

"Of course! I always welcome everyone, beloved children, blessed with love! Love! Love! The love from our beloved mistress!" He said, almost shouting in glee at what he thought was a new member in their Witch Cult.

Their beloved Mistress? Obviously, Petelgeuse was talking about a witch more specifically Satella. He must feel very close to her, seeing as he said word "love" an annoying amount of times, or maybe he was just annoyed that he was talking to a twisted villain? Who knows?

Seeing as the very much, crazy archbishop was very happy to talk about who he thought was Satella, Naruto decided to use the opportunity to acquire information.

"You're very close to the Mistress. May I ask what's your relationship with her?" The blond asked with a false, eager smile.

"Love! With love! She's the most beautiful being, she believed in me! What she needs from me now is the Ordeal!" Petelgeuse yelled with love as he jumped in front of Naruto, who held himself back from punching him right there and then. "With this Ordeal, we must test her! To learn if this half-devil is a worthy vessel, if she is worthy to put our witch into her."

"Put the witch into a half-devil? Worthy vessel?"

"Yes! If she is worthy, the witch will possess her. If not, she will discard her. If she proves a worthy vessel for the witch, then the witch will be reborn into this world on the coming fated day."

_"Half-devil… Emilia!"_ Naruto thought. "I see."

So, the Witch Cult's goal is to capture Emilia and bring her to a trial. Then, use some kind of ritual to summon Satella, and then she would possess Emilia to be reborn into this world because she's a half-elf. It seemed some of his worries were true, this man needed to be put down immediately for everyone's sake.

Naruto wouldn't allow this to happen to Emilia.

"Do you have the Gospel?"

His voice stopped Naruto from his thought process as he looked at him. "The Gospel?" He asked with a confused expression on his face.

"My brain trembles!" He said offended as he took out a book. "Presentation of the Gospel, proof of love… Proof! Proof! Proof! Proof! Huh? My Gospel has no account of you."

"Oh! I see, I see… Give me a second!" Naruto said as he began to search himself for the book. "...Aha! Finally! I found it!"

Petelgeuse gave him a big creepy smile while watching him pull out his Gospel. He waited for the blond boy to reveal the book to him, but got confused when instead he pulled something out from his pocket that clearly had no resemblance to the Gospel. "What is this?" He asked as the blond boy showed a middle-finger to him.

"Fuck you!" Naruto said as he manipulated the sand from his gourd and formed it into a fist to punch Petelgeuse in his face. If one had the ability to see in slow motion, or perceive really fast actions, one could see the first impacting into the face of the madman and force him to swallow some of his teeth. However, a normal person would only see the archbishop get flung into a wall with his face looking like a bloody mess.

The blond shinobi activated the Sennin mode and prepared to fight the Sin Archbishop of Sloth, not willing to let the man pull any tricks on him. Naruto saw his enemy starts to get up, so he charged him. He threw a slash to Petelgeuse with his kunai, but the archbishop's body slid away unnaturally before the blade could end his life.

That wasn't a dodge. There was something that grabbed Betelgeuse's body and saved his life.

Concentrating on his now heightened senses, Naruto could now "see" several "hands" completely made out of magic coming out of the man's back. They seemed like a camouflaged version of his chakra arms and seemed to work similarly, but since they were made out of energy, they were completely obvious to him now.

Petelgeuse clenched his remaining teeth and glared at Naruto, who he no doubt saw as a traitor. "Why!? Why!? Why!?" He demanded to know as he bit his fingers.

"I wasn't with you to begin with, Betelgeuse." Naruto replied as he remained on the frog fighting stance. "You didn't recognize and still revealed precious information to me, you're an idiot. Maybe, next time… check your eyes-dattebayo?" In anger the man actually pierced his skin drawing blood, adding more to his already bloody face.

"Authority of Sloth: Unseen Hand!" Petelgeuse yelled as he unleashed multiple shadow hands that flew toward the blond boy.

Naruto dodged the normally invisible hands and the ones that came to close him were blocked by the sand. He slashed several hands with a kunai overflowing with wind chakra. The blond quickly destroyed all of the Unseen Hand and Petelgeuse was now unable to defend himself, he reached out his hand to command the sand move forward.

Petelgeuse tried to evade but it was too late, the sand caught his arm and he had no way of pry it of him with no Unseen Hand. Naruto clenched his fist to make the sand to crush Betelgeuse's arm, turning his bones into a fine powder. Blood tainted the sand and a few drops were falling to the ground, this left him without a hand and bleeding profusely.

Now able to regrow his Unseen Hand, he commanded them to grab a tree outside of the cave in hopes of getting as far away from Naruto as possible. The hands obeyed him and pulled their owner away from the sand, but in doing so, he had to force his shoulder to detach from his now useless arm. He almost wished he hadn't done that, the pain was unbearable.

But before he could get out of the cave, Naruto appeared at his right side, grabbed his other arm and pulled him toward him, dislocating his now only arm. He used his momentum to punch the right side of his face with ridiculous force, actually popping his right eyeball. Petelgeuse flew toward the same rock wall and crashed into it, leaving second imprint its surface. Naruto landed on the ground safely, and his sand game inside the gourd.

"You can see my Unseen Hand!? Impossible! Impossible! Impossible!" Petelgeuse yelled with rage and no small amount of agonizing pain as he used Unseen Hand once again, however, this time he combined them into two big hands. "Die! Die! Just die!"

Naruto's eyes were sharp as he followed his every movement, and assumed a relaxed stance. The fists were quickly closing in and at the last second, he used a technique a certain slug sannin was well known for. He threw his fists to meet the giant ones and at the last second used chakra to power up his already powerful punches, this resulted in an explosive force, and the fists never stood a chance as he made contact, exploding them into particles of magic. The explosive force was enough to know back the madman into the wall he seemed to love crashing into.

That man could take a beating even if he seemed very fragile at first.

Seeing him on the ground, Naruto opened his palm and created a Rasengan determined to end the fight once and for all. He charged towards Petelgeuse that had once again picked himself up and was sweating bullets as he saw the powerful yellow technique.

"Ur Dona!" Petelgeuse yelled as he quickly created a wall of earth to protect himself from him. But, he was shocked when Naruto appeared in front of him before the wall of the earth closed completely.

"Take this! Rasengan!" The blond shinobi yelled as he smashed Petelgeuse into his gut and twisted it hard to make a horrible friction mark into the man's gut. Then, the Rasengan expanded and exploded sending Betelgeuse's ruined form deeper into the same wall.

Naruto walked over to the earth wall and checked to see if Petelgeuse was dead. He found the body there, unmoving and not breathing.

Maybe, it was a good idea to call Emilia now that the fight was over.

"Hmm?" He looked down at the ground and found the book on the ground that belonged Betelgeuse. He picked it up and opened it to read it. "What's this language?" He asked himself, but he kept it to read it later.

Naruto opened the mirror metia to call Emilia and saw her face when she answered. He smiled at her when he found her relieved look. She was probably worried about him. The blond shinobi was going to speak to her, but suddenly, he felt as if something slammed in his head, he dropped the mirror metia while it was still on.

"Naruto? Naruto!? Are you there!?" Emilia yelled in the mirror metia, her concern palpable.

Naruto fell to his knee down on the ground and held his head in pain. This feeling… he felt like he wanted to vomit. His senses began to go wild. Feeling for the foreign energy he found it inside himself, it was the same energy that archbishop had. Petelgeuse was trying to possess his body!

"Ah… My brain… is trembling!" He yelled, but that wasn't him who said those lines. However, Naruto's mental defenses were strong. "I…I won't let you control me… I am… Naruto Uzumaki! Teach him a lesson you guys!"

**"Leave it to us, brat." Kurama said with an evil smile. What would his container do without him, really.**

**"He has that stupid arrogant face again, if he doesn't stop his head will get too big." The seven tailed kabutomushi said with a shake of her head, the other tailed beasts just chuckled.**

Petelgeuse was trying to take control of the young man that had killed him; he was struggling but needed a new body now that the last one was no longer useful. He was in a white space that generally represented the mindscape of an average human being and while the young man was significantly it didn't make any difference to him, this body would belong to him.

Suddenly he was transported to a sewer like a place, the sudden change in scenery making him fall on his back. He looked around him in a frenzy, he now had no grip into the young man's mind, leaving him powerless.

"What's this place!? What's this place-" He found his voice caught in his throat when he looked at a giant human-like hand, following the limb upwards he met the gazes of nine gargantuan creatures that were looking down directly at him, the one in the center projecting so much hatred it was beginning to drown him.

The beasts smiled evilly as they saw the human enter the dark place.

**"Welcome to your nightmare." Shukaku was looking down at the stupid human with every intention of just swallowing him whole.**

Petelgeuse immediately cut the connection with the young man's mind, a very dangerous place he decided, and was forced to go back into his beaten up body.

Naruto got his senses back and found the injured Petelgeuse lying on the ground in front of him, alive again. "Nice try, but you won't able to get in my mind again." He said.

"This… cannot… be… This cannot be!" Petelgeuse yelled with rage as he used Unseen Hand once again and let it take over his whole body, he was desperate.

Naruto jumped back from Petelgeuse and watched him transform into what he assumed was his true form. It was an abomination. His whole body was that of a huge bug-like creature that was surrounded with Unseen Hand magic.

In that case, it was the time Naruto used a more destructive jutsu against that monster. He opened his hand and created a Rasengan, but he flooded it with wind nature chakra. Four blades were created around the central Rasengan core, giving it the appearance of a fūma shuriken. It also gives off a loud screeching noise.

"Who!? Who!? Who!? Who are you!? Why have you attacked us as we worked so diligently for our plans!? What are you!? Just what are you!?" Petelgeuse demanded in a different voice as he charged towards Naruto.

"My name is Naruto Uzumaki, a shinobi and the friend of a half-elf, Emilia!" Naruto said as he adopted a pitching stance and aimed at Betelgeuse. "Fuuton: Rasenshuriken (Wind Style: Rasenshuriken)!"

He threw the Rasenshuriken at Petelgeuse and it directly hit him, pushing him back away from him. The Rasenshuriken detonated, producing a vortex of wind in the immediate area. Naruto had to shield himself from the blast. He heard Betelgeuse's painful screams while he's getting sliced by countless microscopic wind blades. This was the end for Betelgeuse, he couldn't escape from the Rasenshuriken.

* * *

"Naruto, please stay alive!" Emilia said as she ran in the forest to look for Naruto after she lost connection with him.

She got very worried when that happened, so she told Rem to stay at the mansion and ran after Naruto. She saw what happened to him on the mirror metia because it was still on. He dropped the mirror metia and she heard this… his voice was the same, but it wasn't from the Naruto she knew. His words were different, it wasn't like him to say things with such insanity.

That couldn't be… Did someone actually possess Naruto? Emilia shook her head and chose not to believe in that. She knew that he wouldn't give up that easily, he would win.

_"Lia, calm down. We all know that Naruto won't-"_

"I can't!" Emilia yelled, wanting to believe Puck but being unable to stop until she sees Naruto, she needed to see that the worst hadn't happened. "H-He promised me."

_"I promise I will make you happy for me and for Puck!"_

The half-elf remembered his promise, that he'll make her happy. He wanted her to be happy and have a good life for him, for Puck and more importantly, for herself.

She… She doesn't want him to forget that promise and leave her behind, she didn't want to be alone, not again. Her heart was beating so fast. Emilia doesn't understand why her heartbeat does that. Her heart was beating for Naruto because…because she had especial feelings, but she didn't know which ones.

This feeling was something new, she didn't know if it was worry from him possibly leaving her, or something else, perhaps a special kind of joy?

_"Lia, you've changed."_ Puck thought as he looked at his daughter, Emilia.

His daughter has become so strong since Naruto crashed into her life, stronger than ever before. Stronger than, dare he say, even Emilia thought was possible.

That boy knew almost everything about her and understood her and her feelings. It was natural considering their very similar upbringing.

Puck started to like Naruto because of the way he treats her and teaches Lia to stand up for herself. Maybe… no, only the future could tell if he was the one.

_"Puck, what's this feeling?!"_

Puck looked at Lia as he saw her being pushed by a blast. The spirit creature flew out and hanged on Lia's shoulder as he started to create ice wall in front of them for protection. They stayed behind their shield until the blast was finally over.

That blast was strong and almost made Emilia experience flying, but luckily Puck helped her using the ice wall to protect her.

"What was that strong blast?! Where did it come from?!" Emilia asked.

"I don't know, but it came from that direction." Puck pointed ahead of them as he sensed incredible mana release. "That mana explosion was too powerful! I've never seen this before."

A few seconds later, the blast has stopped and the two looked out from the ice wall. Emilia and Puck nodded at each other as they continued to try and find Naruto. They got out of the tree line and went where the signature was, and for sure where Naruto was, but they found a massive hole on the ground.

"Who did this? Do you know, Puck?" Emilia asked.

"I've never seen this in my life." Puck said as he looked at the size of the hole. The size was freaking massive, his true form could totally fit there with no problems.

Emilia looked around to find Naruto, but he was nowhere to be seen. She had a worried expression on her face, already fearing the worst. She shook her head, she had to think positively. She knows he's here somewhere.

"Emilia?"

The half-elf heard a familiar voice behind her, she turned to see the person who called her name. Purple eyes met yellow ones. Looking at the blond spiky hair and whisker marks, it was revealed to indeed be Naruto. He looked a little different, mainly the eyes and his rectangular pupils.

"Emilia?" repeated Naruto concerned, she just stood there looking at him as if seeing something strange, but he was worried for nothing as she flung herself into his arms. He kept his balance from the surprise attack and looked down at her. "Emilia, what's wrong?"

"I was so worried about you. I-I'm sorry for disobeying your order, but I couldn't help it when I saw you in trouble." Emilia cried in his arms.

"I'm ok, Emilia." He replied as he hugged her back assuring her he was there for her. Then, he saw Puck who flew toward him. "Hey, Puck. Any news?"

"The cultists are dead." He answered him, noticing the toad eyes. "Your eyes. What happened to them, and since when do you use makeup?" He also noticed the orange rings in his eyes.

"Sennin mode, it's basically a power boost using the energy that the world has to offer." Naruto said as he looked at the massive hole. "Yeah…about that massive explosion… It was me who did that. I told you guys to stay away from me because it could get crazy like this. And I don't use makeup, dattebayo? It's an effect of natural energy."

"I'm sorry. But that's pretty impressive, it has to be a powerful mode if it gives you this much power."

After a few minutes, Emilia pulled away from Naruto and wiped her tears with a hand. Without thinking, she started to check him to see if he had any injuries. "Are you ok? Are you hurt?" She asked.

"I'm fine, Emilia." Naruto said with an amused smile. "Now that this is all over we should pack up and leave the mansion, at least until we are certain it's safe."

Emilia nodded to him, and began to walk back to the mansion, but she stopped as she turned to Naruto who looked in a different direction. "Naruto?" She asked as the blond shinobi turned to her.

"It's nothing." He replied as he walked to Emilia.

* * *

Naruto opened his eyes slowly, hearing loud noises and feeling the soothing motions of the carriage they were in. His body was heavy with fatigue, feeling unfamiliar weights on his body he looked at two girls sleeping on him. Rem slept on his lap, holding his right hand with both hands and she seemed to be having a good dream. Emilia rested her head on his shoulder, holding his left hand.

The two of them were exhausted after they fought the Witch Cult and the road was long, so of course they would fall asleep in a second.

"Uzumaki-san, are you awake?"

Naruto looked at the person who called him, he was the rider of the carriage that was sent to pick them up. His hair is grey. He wore a green uniform with a cloak and hat with a feather.

"What is it, Otto?"

"I-I would like to thank you for giving me a payment, but I didn't expect to see the Witch Cult." Otto said, sounding scared.

"Don't worry about them. We have taken care of all of them, they won't be after us." He replied as he closed his eyes for seconds and looked at Otto in curiosity. "Tell me about yourself, Otto."

"I'm just a merchant…and an unlucky person. I'm not very good at making the oils I sell." Otto said as his facial expression changed into a happy one. "But, thank you for buying all of them."

Yeah…about the oils, Naruto was the one who bought them, so he could burn the corpses of the Witch Cultists with fire, those oils sure were flammable. Just to be sure that they wouldn't come back from the dead or be resurrected by their witch with magic, or some mumbo jumbo the bad guys sometimes had. After that, Naruto and his friends packed all of their stuff. Then, they rode with Otto and his carriage.

Sadly, Beatrice wasn't allowed to leave the mansion because of her contract. Naruto begged her to go with them for her safety, but she refused his offer. However, he made a promise to her that he'll come back for her. Maybe, he could find a way to set Beatrice free.

"Uzumaki-san, we're almost there." Otto said.

Naruto nodded to him and began to wake the two up. "Emilia. Rem." He said gently as he shook both of them. The blue-haired maid stirred first, her blue eyes slowly opening, she rubbed her eyes to gain focus.

"Naruto-kun?" She stuttered.

"How was your sleep?" He asked with a smile.

Rem nodded to him with a smile and stretched out her arms as she got up from his lap. She let out a yawn and looked out of the carriage.

While she was looking out, it was Emilia's turn to wake up. Naruto didn't want to ruin her sleep because she seemed to be having a good dream by looking at her face. But, he had to wake her up before they arrived at the capital. Naruto shook the half-elf in gently until she started to stir as her eyes opened slowly.

The half-elf got up from his shoulder and rubbed her eyes with her hands. She took her sweet time to regain her focus and her violet eyes completely opened. Her eyes met his azure, amused ones.

"Tired?" Naruto asked.

"Still tired, but I'm trying." Emilia said as she stretched her body and let out a yawn. "Where are we?"

"We're in our way to the capital-" Naruto was interrupted by the carriage as it stopped suddenly. Just at the right time, he grabbed Emilia and Rem in his arms before they fell. "Otto! What the hell?! Why did you stop?!"

"Sorry, Uzumaki-san. Y-You three should come out." He said.

Why would they have to get out of the carriage? Emilia and Rem nodded to Naruto as he nodded back before getting out of the carriage. They got out, and checked over the gate as they walked past their carriage. They were surprised when they found the villagers from Irlam Village.

"The people of Irlam Village?" Emilia was surprised.

"They waited for our return." Rem said.

"Naruto-niichan!"

Naruto looked at Petra who called him, and received a hug from her as her arms wrapped around his waist. He heard her sobbing as her face looked up at him.

"Hey, Petra." He said with a smile before he got a group hug by the children.

"Naruto-niichan! You came back!" Luka said.

The blond shinobi couldn't help but let out a laugh and smiled at them. "H-Hey! You guys are heavy!" He said between laughs as he saw Milde walks in front of the people to meet him and the other two.

"Emilia-chan. Rem-san. Naruto-kun." She said as she started to bow to them. "Thank you for saving us."

"You're welcome. I'm glad you're all safe." Emilia said with a smile, feeling happy to be reunited with the people that so graciously accepted her.

* * *

It has been several hours ever since they returned to the capital after fighting against the Witch Cult. Naruto destroyed Petelgeuse Romanee-Conti with his Rasenshuriken, and their little cults are no longer bother Emilia.

One-half of villagers had to stay in the capital because the village in the mansion's territory wasn't safe anymore. Who knew what the Witch Cult would do, while they got rid of a lot of members. They were pretty sure they were more, and remaining in a position where they could easily get ambushed and attacked again wouldn't be in their best interest, living in fear isn't living at all, or so they said.

The other half of villagers should have arrived at the Sanctuary already, which was the safest road to travel. Ram had to go with them, in case the Witch Cult would attack them. Hopefully, Roswaal will be able to protect the people, and since he wasn't in the mansion. Their manpower was reduced, even if it was by a little margin. Hopefully, the villagers could be reunited with their friends and family little by little, but waiting was their best move, for now.

…

Naruto was starting to hate the clown guy for abandoning his place and leaving the village behind. Somehow Roswaal knew the Witch Cult was coming for the village? Him leaving even though he knew of the threat, these people posed from Rem and Ram were just so out of the blue and too much of a coincidence.

The Witch Cult's goal was to capture Emilia and bring her to a ritual, so Satella can possess her and be reborn into this world, killing Emilia, or so he thought.

Naruto clenched his fists. He wouldn't let them take Emilia away from him, from the people who loved her just because of who she was, so he promised. It seemed his quest to ensure a great future for this world was becoming more and more complex the more people he knew and the situations that arose.

"Naruto-kun."

He heard a voice, and looked at Rem, who had a worried face.

"Yes?" He asked a little more harsh then he would've liked, it seemed this was taking a toll on his emotional state.

"Are you okay? You were spaced out for a minute and…" Rem said as she put her hand on his cheek to comfort him. "…you looked angry." She stared at his red demonic eyes that were filled with anger.

The look on his face would be terrifying and demonic to anyone, but not to Rem. She wasn't afraid of Naruto, even though he told them the truth about himself and a little about the true reach of his powers, she was still not afraid of him. The truth is she knew everything about him; she listened to the conversation between Naruto and Emilia, not on purpose, of course.

In any seconds now, Naruto realized he unwillingly from pulled Kurama's chakra and made his face look more feral. "Sorry, Rem! I-I didn't mean to scare you!" He panicked, deactivating Kurama's chakra as his demonic features turned back normal.

That was a stupid thing to do in front of her! He forgot that his and Kurama's bond was too strong, so it automatically made him draw his chakra when feeling negative emotions-

"It's ok." Rem shook her head as she smiled at him and still held on his cheek. "I'm not scared of you. I understand that you have too many things going through your head. Helping this world could be a thought stressing to anyone."

"...So, I take it you heard me talking with Emilia?"

"Yes, Naruto-kun. I heard everything about you and your life." The blue-haired maid said with an apologetic smile as she looked down. "I'm sorry for listening to your story without asking you."

"That's alright, Rem. I guess you deserved to know the truth about me, so I don't mind-dattebayo."

Hearing his catchphrase, Rem let out a giggle, she loves when he says that. It seemed like his trademark phrase. He was such a goofball.

"...Naruto-kun. Please tell me what happened."

"Huh?" Naruto wondered.

"You were angry before and I have a feeling that you have something in your mind. If you can tell me, please do. I swear I'll do my best to help you." Rem said.

That one was Naruto's fault for making such an angry face at the Witch Cult and at Roswaal. He wasn't going to tell her, but lying isn't an option either. He could one hundred percent trust Emilia, Rem, Beatrice, and the others.

His reluctance to tell Rem is because of her loyalty towards Roswaal, a being he didn't exactly trust. Rem and Ram have been with him for a long time after their village got destroyed by the Witch Cult. They're very respectful and loyal to Roswaal, and this loyalty could be a problem in the future since they owe him a great deal.

"Yeah, you're right, I have too many things in my head." Naruto said as he scratched the back of his head lightly. "I trust you, but I won't tell you, not yet. I want to tell everyone once we are reunited."

"Of course, Naruto-kun." Rem said. "If you're not from here, then why?"

"Why, what?"

"Then, why are you here?"

Naruto crossed his arms with a thoughtful look on his face, the one question he didn't have an answer to. "...I don't know. Maybe, I'm needed here to save your world and change the way it's headed." He said, looking at Rem who had nervous look on her face.

"Wh-What is it, Naruto-kun? When you stare with such dramatic eyes, it makes me uncomfortable." She said as her face glowed a pink hue.

"Perhaps I already am changing things, I don't remember you being this lively." The blond man said as he poked her nose with his finger, surprising her. "Your smile. Your laugh. I'd like to think this is little details I'm changing."

"Thank you." Rem smiled as she did the same to him, poking his nose. "To me, you're too silly-dattebayo?"

"No copying, that is my word!" Naruto said pouting and looking away with a huff.

Then after a few seconds, Naruto and Rem burst out their laugh together at the ridiculous situation they were both experimenting.

"Why are we laughing!?"

"I don't know. You made me laugh." Rem stopped laughing, she wiped away a tear. Suddenly Rem's demeanor took a turn.

"Alright then, let's head back-" Naruto paused as his sleeve was grabbed by a hand. He turned to her, and found a sad look on her face. "Rem, what's wrong?" The different and sudden change in feelings he was getting from her was actually worrying, no one just jumped from joy to sadness so suddenly.

"So…after you save this world…that means you're going to back to your home?" She asked.

Shit… that question struck his heart like a lightning. It wasn't so simple to answer her because there was no guarantee that he could come back if he went back home, or if he could go back at all. There was no way around this possibility, worst case scenario he went home and couldn't go back, best case scenario Sasuke could help him travel between both worlds.

Naruto doesn't know how to say this to Rem, but he'll have to be honest with her, she deserved to know, at least.

He opened his mouth to speak, but got interrupted by a hug as the arms wrapped around his waist. He looked down at Rem, and heard her crying.

"I-I can't. It hurts too much… I can't accept it. When you leave this world, I-I'll never see you again. I never want that day to come!"

Her voice filled with sadness and pain. Looking down, Naruto knew that telling Rem the truth would hurt her. Rem knew that he will leave her world and go back to his homeland.

"Rem, I-"

"Never! I refuse to accept it!" Rem yelled as she buried her face into his chest. "I love it when you stroke my hair! It feels like we understand each other through this silly things and jokes. I really love your voice and your eyes! My heart feels warmer every time I hear you say something."

"Rem…" Naruto said softly as he lifted her chin up with a finger to look up at him. Her face was red and completely covered with tears. Looking at her face like that, it really felt worse than lightning to his heart.

"You saved me in that dark forest when I lost myself and only thought of raging around." She said, holding his cheek with a hand and looked at him. "You didn't run away from me and risked your life to protect me from the demon beasts. You stopped my rage. You fought, even though I thought you had no chance of winning. You came back to me alive. You said the words that I wanted to hear at the right time. You sweetly melted my frozen heart. You made a promise to me! I don't want you to leave!"

Right, Naruto made a promise to her that they can lean on each other, to laugh and smile together. Also, he promised Emilia that he would never leave her side.

"Rem, look at me."

The blue-haired maid looked at Naruto with her teary face as his thumb wiped her tears.

"You have to understand that I don't belong here. I belong in my world, it's possible that they'll force me to go back, but…" Naruto said as he pulled her into a hug. "…I'll find a way to get here if it's possible. I won't give up until I find a way to get back here. You're the one who made me realize how this world goes. Honestly, I want to stay here, I want to explore more of this world with you and everyone else."

The blond shinobi stared at her eyes, noticing her cheeks have turned red, and felt his hand warming. That facial expression and the heat from her cheeks… Is she?

"Naruto-kun, I love you! I love you because you're my hero!" Rem confessed her feelings for Naruto.

The blond was speechless with his eyes widened in shock, she confessed her feeling to him. "Rem… I…" He swallowed with a blush, struggling with how to respond the maid's feelings, before a finger was placed on his lip.

"I know, Naruto-kun, you have feelings for Emilia-sama, I watched you both." Rem smiled, closing her eyes as she placed her hands on the heart. "You don't have feelings for me, but I understand why you two are perfect. You and Emilia-sama are ones and the same concerning your similar pasts, but you have been through much more pain and suffering than Emilia. Since you arrived here in my world, you have helped Emilia and me so much."

"Rem, is this what you want?" Naruto asked, feeling bad for the blue-haired maid, his feelings were a mess in this moment because of the simple confession.

"Yes, this is what I want." Rem said with a bitter smile as she looked at the blond. "But, promise me I'll still be a part of your life. Can you entertain this selfish woman's desire, just this once?"

"You're damn right I-" He was going to continue the sentence, but his voice got dropped. His eyes widened in shock when a soft and warm feeling met in his lip. His stomach took a turn and for some reason felt warm and tingly.

His eyes were still opened, Rem kissed him on the lips, she was tipping her toes to reach his height. She didn't tell him anything before kissing him. She just kissed him.

After a few seconds, Rem and Naruto pulled away from each other. Their cheeks were red after the kiss, both enjoyed. The sensation of their lips together feeling strangely right.

"Just this once, Naruto-kun…" She said, sounding remorseful but strangely calm, almost comforted. "I shall take that as a promise. You cannot go back on your word now."

Naruto's blush was no longer on his cheeks, he smiled at Rem not knowing what more to do than to try and cheer her up. "It'll be fine, Rem. I'll find a way to take care of everything. I'm someone who never breaks a promise!" He said, his eyes looking at the maid with great care and warmth.

"Naruto-kun…" Rem said softly as her tears kept flowing more. "Thank you!"

Then, Naruto and Rem leaned in closer, their foreheads were now touching. Closing their eyes, both smiled at the same time. They found happiness in their life and created a new memory never forget.

* * *

"Sorry for taking so long, Emilia." Naruto said, walking with Emilia in the street. The silver-haired girl had to wear her cloak because the crowds still didn't like her appearance, this wasn't Irlam Village.

After Naruto and Rem returned from a long break, Rem stayed behind in the hotel to rest. Right after that, Emilia told Naruto to go with her to the city because she planned to buy something. Of course he said yes.

Right now, they're in the street with stores everywhere, if one could see them because it was filled with crowds. This is why Emilia brought a cloak to cover her appearance from humans.

"It's fine! It's fine!" The half-elf said, waving her hand. She grabbed something in her pocket and took it out to show it to Naruto. "Look at this, Naruto! What do you think?"

Naruto looked at the paper with Japanese kanji written in ink, it wasn't perfect but one could easily understand their meaning. "Wow, you're getting better at this." He was amazed at the progress she was making in his language, Emilia smiled at him.

"Yes, it was because of your book. I used it to learn the words from there." She said.

Naruto put his hands on the back of his head, and looked at Emilia. "So, why are we here for?" He asked.

"Do you remember the girl we helped in our first meet?" Emilia asked as she remembered the little girl lost in the street.

The blond shinobi nodded and remembered the lost girl. That was a while back. They found her and brought her back to her parents. Before she and her mom left, her mom gave Naruto and Emilia a location where they could buy fruits, her store's location.

"Wow, I almost forgot about that." Naruto said with a thoughtful look on his face as he scratched his cheek lightly with a finger. He heard a giggle from Emilia which made him a little mad. "Why are you laughing at me?"

"I thought you knew everyone, but it seems you forgot her all the way back from the first day we met." Emilia said, covering her mouth to resist her giggles. "Puck was right about you. You may be a shinobi, but you have a short memory."

"What?! I don't have a short memory, but more importantly, I can't believe you agree with him! Emilia, that hurts my feelings!" Naruto yelled as the silver-haired girl started to laugh at him now. He narrowed his eyes in slight embarrassment, already planning his revenge. An idea came to mind and he poked her on her side in retaliation and she let out a squeal.

Emilia started to poke back to him on his side with a finger for poking her, and gave him another one, but she let out a laugh when Naruto poked her several times. They narrowed their eyes and entered ridiculous stances, not caring for the people watching them.

The scene was weird because their pokes were now a martial art of its own, the pokes were blurs and they seemed to be in a serious match. The blond shinobi grinned softly, but quickly reacted and grabbed her waist before she accidentally ran into some random people. He sighed with relief until he took a strong poke in his ribs. The half-elf had the gall to giggle at him when he glared at her.

"Gotcha!" She said with a smile.

"Wow, I saved your life, and now you poke me. Maybe, I should've dropped you." Naruto said, looking away as if looking at that very scenario.

"How mean of you!" Emilia said in a childish way as she glared at him with cute pout while poking her tongue out. Her facial expression changed into a happy one as she smiled at him. "But, thank you."

Naruto smiled at her back as he and Emilia continued on the street. Before continuing, a hand caught his hand which got his attention, he turned to look at the half-elf who had a blush on her face.

"Emilia?" The blond shinobi asked.

"C-Can I hold your hand again?" Emilia asked as her hand gripped his hand, and she looked at him. "I-I felt comfortable holding your hand, Naruto. I…I feel safe with you, so…can we hold hands again?"

Naruto couldn't help but blush when he looked at her face. Her face was that of an angel, that thought made his heart skip a beat.

"Alright." He accepted as he held her hand.

Finally, they continued to walk on the street and found the fruit shop. The walk wasn't long when Naruto and Emilia stopped by a small shop with fruits. They met the seller who had a muscular body. His hair is green with a hairband. He wore a black vest, and two bracelets lined his wrists.

"Are you Kadomon Risch?" Naruto asked.

"Huh? How do you know my name?" Kadomon asked.

"Well, you see… It was your wife who gave us your name and your location. We're here to buy your fruit." Emilia said as she looked over the fresh fruits while Naruto kept looking at the seller, that seemed to be analyzing them. The man's eyes light up in recognition.

"My wife told you-Oh… I remember. She told me about you two because you found my daughter." Kadomon said with a smile. "As a reward for finding my daughter, you can get it for free, but just this once."

"O-Oh no! We can't do that to you!"

"It's alright. I really appreciate your help, so please take them for free. You earned it."

Naruto and Emilia looked at each other with smiles when they learned they could get their fruits for free.

A couple of minutes later, Naruto had a bag of red apples in his arm. Emilia thanked the seller for giving them free fruit. They were going to head back, but they saw a crowd looking at the board.

"Oh! If you're curious what's going on, the royal election's started. You two can look at the board, but I highly look at the top first." Kadomon said as he pointed at the board with two familiar pictures.

The board got Naruto interested as he walked toward the crowd and looked over them. His eyes found two pictures of two candidates on the top one. The first picture is Crusch. The second picture is Anastasia. Taking a good guess, the nobilities must have voted for them.

The other three candidates are on the bottom, underneath the top two. Naruto saw Emilia's picture is on the second row next to Priscilla. He sighed in disappointment at the nobilities for judging Emilia by her appearance. It wasn't good for him when he heard the crowd criticizing Emilia.

"Naruto." Emilia said, holding his hand as she pulled him away from the board before he became more uncomfortable. With luck, she managed to make him look at her. "Let's go."

Naruto sighed calmly, his anger cooling down as he held her hand back. "Alright." He said as they left the market and ignored the board.

After several minutes, they're on halfway to the hotel. Emilia kept looking at Naruto because she felt his anger. She finally understands why he went so far for her, that day.

_"I don't want you to go through that life, like me."_

_"People hated me and treated me like a demon because I have the Kyuubi."_

Emilia gripped Naruto's hand and laid her head on his arm. "Naruto…" She said softly.

"Yeah?" He asked.

"I… I understand why you went so far for me, life didn't give us a good hand. To tell you the truth, I never understood people's feelings and emotions." She said as she and Naruto stopped on the sidewalk. She sees his azure eyes staring at her purple eyes. "But, when you told me about your life and your story, I finally understood why people get hurt by their feelings. They lost their loved ones who died in a war to protect their family. You said family to Rom because he and Felt are family, they've been watching each other backs way too long to not be considered family."

"You were right. Rom and Felt are family because they cared about each other. Family is special and important because it can give you love." Naruto said as he pointed at her chest with a finger. "Look at parents. Parents care about you because they love you, they sacrifice everything for you and more. They raise people because they love them, not because they have to."

"About your parents, Naruto… I'm still sorry about you going through so much pain and suffering without them." Emilia said as she remembered his parents died by sacrificing their lives for him, she at least had her aunt. "You have gone through an experience so much like mine. I have experienced this kind of life because of my looks… People hate me… but I understand why they hate me. The reason why the Witch Cult targets me is because I am a half-elf that looks exactly like-"

The bag was dropped on the ground and Emilia was cut off from her last word by a hand that grabbed her and pulled her to hug. She let out a gasp and looked it up to Naruto who embraced her with two arms. His eyes were closed, but she can tell his facial expression was… worried and sad. Maybe saying the name "Satella" to herself is off limit for him.

When Naruto embraced her, she felt nice and warm feelings from him. Her face glowing a red hue.

"Don't ever say that word again… Never again…" Naruto said softly. "You have nothing to do with the Witch Cult and nothing to do with that Witch, to hell with anyone that tells you otherwise. You're Emilia, you're a strong girl who never gives up, and you're one of the kindest people I know. Most importantly…you're my friend."

Emilia's eyes widened in shock and her tears started to fall down her face. She accepted his embrace fully and her head was buried into his chest. To be honest, she had never received a hug from anyone. This is the first time that someone else other than Puck hugged her.

"...Naruto."

"Yes?"

"Would you do me the honor of being my knight?" Emilia asked with a smile as she wiped her tears.

Naruto blinked his eyes and pulled away from her a bit with a surprised expression. His expression turned into a gentle one before he grinned as he grabbed Emilia around her waist, picking her up and spinning her around.

"Kyaa!" Emilia let out a cute scream, holding on to him.

"Yes! I would love to be your knight!" Naruto nearly shouted as he continued to spin.

"N-Naruto…can you put me down?" She asked as the blond shinobi came to a slow stop and placed her down with a smile. Looking at his smile, she was happy to see him smiling again.

The silver-haired girl realized his arms were still wrapped around her waist. She blushed lightly at his action before backing up slowly out of his arms.

"Naruto, I'm happy you accepted to be my knight, but there's more I want to say." She said with a bush, preparing to confess her feeling to him. According to a book that detailed the feelings a maiden feels when in love she considered seriously if what she felt for Naruto was love. But it was better to give a shot rather than cry in remorse, or so they say.

"Sure, what is it?" Naruto asked.

"I… I-"

"Oh my, oh my! What do we have here-nya?!"

Naruto and Emilia heard a familiar voice as they turned to meet the person. They found a cute cat-female, not exactly the person Naruto wanted to see again, because he triggered his Haku related PTSD, he couldn't trust appearances anymore.

"Hello-nya."

* * *

"I'm glad you're all safe." Crusch said with relief, drinking alcohol in front of Naruto and Emilia. After Ferris found them, he brought them to Crusch's house to visit her.

Naruto and Emilia had explained to Crusch everything about the Witch Cult attack.

"Yes, we were attacked by the Witch Cult. We had to evacuate everyone from there, but we split them up. Ram is there with them and Roswaal is there too. The others are here to live in the capital in the meantime." Emilia said.

"A person name Petelgeuse Romanee-Conti. He's a Sloth, or something like that." Naruto said dismissively.

Crusch placed the cup down as she looked at the blond man. "Yes, the Witch Cult's Six Cardinals, titled as the deadly sins. Each of them bears the name of a deadly sin from the six witches who aren't the Witch of Envy. Sloth, Greed, Gluttony, Lust, Wrath, and Pride. These are the names of the deadly sins." She said as her expression turned into an interested one. "I'm impressed that you defeated Petelgeuse of Sloth."

"He was nothing special, but he was a danger, so I had to put him down." He said, crossing his arms as he has gotten serious about six Cardinals of Sin.

Petelgeuse died by the Rasenshuriken, so that meant that there's now only five Cardinals of Sin left. Their goal is to restore or break the seal the Witch of Envy. According to the story, she had been sealed for the last 400 years. The Sage, the Dragon, and the Sword Saint were the ones who sealed Satella. Breaking the seal was said to be impossible, but was it? There's no way the five Cardinals of Sins can break the seal, or can they? What would they do now that a Cardinal was dead? What type of power would they need to break the seal, if it was possible at all?

Why did Satella kill the other six witches? Why did she try to destroy the world?

Satella, the Witch Cult, the Sins, the Witches all of them were surrounded by questions that lacked an answer. For the first time, he was thinking about her. His heart ached a bit because he started to realize something.

**_"I love you."_**

**_"I'm…sorry."_**

Her voice…sounded so familiar to Naruto. He doesn't know why he thinks that, but her voice sounded familiar to him. It was filled with sadness and suffering. It was like… they knew each other from before this whole mess.

"Naruto? Naruto?"

Naruto felt someone shake him and he turned to see Emilia. "Huh? What's up, Emilia?" He asked.

"You were spacing out." Emilia said concerned as she stared at his face. Naruto had that same expression from yesterday while heading back to the mansion.

"Sorry for spacing." Naruto replied as he looked at Crusch. "Yeah, Petelgeuse is definitely dead. That is one down. The five Cardinals of Sin to go, am I correct?"

"Yes, you are correct, but I want to warn you about them. They killed so many people in the past and they were strong too, so do not hold back." She warned.

"Yeah, I'll keep that in my mind." Naruto said as he crossed his arms. "You know, I just realized that all the five candidates are always busy, right?"

"In response to a certain occurrence, my family is currently gathering people and objects. Plus, since word of the royal selection spread, I've received proposals every day. I'm sure the other candidates have as well."

"H-Hey!" Emilia said with a blush as the blond shinobi was about to choke when he took water in a glass, he lightly hit his chest, and then looked at Emilia and Crusch.

"P-Proposals!? You mean marriage?!" He shocked.

"I'm already 20. It wouldn't be weird for me to be engaged to someone. It could also work in my favor depending on who it is." Crusch said with a sly smile, looking at Naruto as she decided to mess with Emilia. "Emilia didn't tell you that she received some proposals as well?"

"H-Hey!" The silver-haired girl yelled in embarrassment, trying in vain to stop her from playing around with her and Naruto.

"WH-WHAT?!" Naruto yelled as he looked at Emilia with an unreadable expression on his face. "Emilia, is this true? I… I…"

"W-Wait, N-Naruto-"

Crusch let a giggle escape her mouth at the two who now have the red-colored face and a totally serious one. "Forgive me, Emilia and Naruto, I simply couldn't resist. Candidates are forbidden to become engaged during the royal election to prevent any unneeded faction wars."

"S-See? I was going to tell you this." Emilia said nervously with a relieved smile.

"Oh…" Naruto said, starting to calm down as he sat down back on a chair.

"Emilia, you have a good knight on your side. I admit that." Crusch said with a smile as she looked at the silver-haired girl who had a blush. "Anyways, what will you do tomorrow?"

"Pretty easy. We'll go back to the mansion, and then head to the Sanctuary." Naruto said

"Before you go there, the path you took when you first came is currently closed off. You'll have to take a detour." Crusch said.

"Huh? Why? What's going on there?" He asked.

"There's currently mist on that path. If you don't know about the mist, the mist is created by the Hakugei." Crusch said.

"Oh…" Naruto understood as he remembered back in the forest when he was going back to the mansion with Emilia. He was in Sennin mode and found a large mana source that caught his attention. "Why not…Why not just fight the Hakugei? I know that's a stupid question, but-"

"I understand what you're trying to say, but it isn't that simple. Hakugei is one of the Three Great Demon Beasts. However, I'm already prepared for that." Crusch said as she looked at Emilia. "Emilia, Naruto Uzumaki has defeated Petelgeuse Romanee-Conti."

"Eh? What do you want from him?" Emilia wondered.

"I'm going to need your assistance."


	11. Chapter 11

**This chapter has been edit by the same editor, XPartan Caos. All the credits to the editor for grammar, editing, and spelling.**

* * *

"Ugh… I'm putting on weight. Puck will complain about it again…" Emilia said with an upset expression, looking at her slender body she just noticed got a little fat. "The contract with Puck included after-bath softness, hair trimming, nail trimming, and…"

She thought about what to do next, but too many things were running through her head. She slapped herself on the cheeks to regain her focus, and lied down in the bathtub to concentrate. Much more important things needed her attention.

"I can't continue to be like this…" She said to herself as she thought about Naruto and the recent developments that were solved thanks to him. He defeated Petelgeuse who was in charge of a Witch Cult branch, because surely the other Cardinals would have their own little armies, and he could've easily done it by himself, with or without their help. "Naruto did everything for us… I don't want to be a useless girl."

The half-elf felt useless for not doing much to help Naruto. Back in the royal selection meeting, she was uncomfortable because she felt the glares from the majority of the nobles when she revealed her goal. Nobody liked her or her goal because they didn't believe her being capable of becoming the King based just on her appearance and her race.

But, her new knight, Naruto, helped her so much, even back then when he had no obligation as her knight to do so. He used that strong mana…no, chakra to silent all the nobles who were disrespecting her. Naruto gave her courage not to give up and another chance to speak up for one more time. Emilia remembered the rush of courage he gave her and delivered a great speech to everyone.

He is… He is such a good person who cares about his friends, her, Rem, Puck, and most likely everyone in the mansion and Irlam Village. Emilia has only known this person for some weeks, but she already feels very close to him, perhaps her mind was playing tricks on her, but she felt as if she has known him for way longer.

This, however, brought to life a very real concern, the fact that he was from another dimension meant that he was going to have to go back where he came from. To be truthful, she wanted him to stay here in this world, so she can spend a lot more time with him.

"I wish I had enough strength to tell him that I…" She paused, getting comfortable in the tub and sinking in the water as it reached over to her mouth. "I… I…"

Her vision was getting dizzy and her eyes started to close slowly. Her legs felt a little weird, it felt as if someone was starting to grip them…

* * *

"It's nice to have you join our hunt, Naruto-san." Wilhelm said, walking with the blond boy in the hallway.

"Thank you, and please call me Naruto, Wilhelm-san, I'm not one for formalities. But I must say I didn't know you were Reinhard's grandfather, it came as a surprise." He said.

"Yes, he's indeed my grandson. Speaking of surprises, I heard you became Emilia's knight today. Congratulations."

"Yep, I accepted to be her knight. I will protect her with my life., that's a promise."

Wilhelm had a good look at the boy's eyes. His eyes were by far the most interesting characteristic in the young man's body. They reminded him of his wife's eyes, full of life and happiness but capable of turning into steel at the drop of a hat.

"Wilhelm-san?" Naruto wondered, looking at him who had an interesting expression on his face. His voice reached him as he shook his head.

"I'm ok." He said, walking ahead of him. "I will see you tomorrow. Please, take a good rest."

Naruto sighed with a smile on his face. Tomorrow will be an interesting day. The knights and mages will reunite in a meeting regarding the hunt of the Hakugei. A white whale that uses mist and one of the Three Great Demon Beasts. After defeating that whale, Naruto and the two girls will head back to Roswaal's house to check if everything's alright. Beatrice was left alone in the mansion because she couldn't leave.

He shook his head in exasperation. He walked to the bathroom where he can take a relaxing shower, but he realized someone went in when the knob didn't turn. He knocked on the door twice to hear if someone answered him, but no one answered. He remembered Emilia went into the bathroom first.

…

…

The bathroom was too quiet, so he knocked one more time with more force to hear her voice. His ears could hear the wildlife movement in a forest with precision so the fact that he couldn't hear Emilia was concerning.

…

…

…

…

Naruto reacted quickly by kicking the door open, entering the dressing room, and dashing inside. He jumped into the bathtub and lifted Emilia out before she can drown in the water. Then, he used a chakra arm to grab a towel and cover her body.

"Are you ok!?" He asked frantically, while Emilia was expelling the water that entered her lungs. She was panicking and clinging desperately to him. "You're ok now."

Emilia's breath was slowly getting less erratic but she was now crying, the shock of almost dying fresh. She closed her eyes while breathing slowly, she was clearly savoring the fresh air.

"It's alright. Everything's fine now." Naruto said rubbing her back.

"…Yeah." Emilia nodded weakly while still holding onto him tightly. He continued to hold onto her, to calm her down…

Both of them suddenly realized what they had failed to realize before, Emilia was basically naked right now. Emilia gazed down slowly to her own body with embarrassment, only to sigh in relief when she found herself covered in a towel.

"Yeah, that… I managed to grab a towel for you, but I…" Naruto blushed with eyes closed, waiting for a slap from Emilia. But, he didn't feel any pain so he reluctantly opened his eyes.

She wasn't angry with him for looking at her nude body but that didn't mean she wasn't embarrassed.

"What happened, Emilia? I knocked on the door twice, but I didn't hear you." He said worriedly.

"I… I don't know… I usually don't fall asleep in the bath, but suddenly… I… I…" Emilia said weakly, remembering the sudden dizzy feeling she had. She had never fallen asleep in the bathtub before.

"It's alright. I'm just glad you're safe…" He sighed with relief. "Can you stand?"

She wasn't too sure if she could stand so she shook her head weakly to Naruto. Her legs were shaking slightly, and her arms were too. He can feel her hands tightened in his sweater, not wanting to let go of it.

"D-Don't go… I-I'm embarrassed… but… but… please…" She said trembling slightly. "Wait for me…until I change my clothes…"

Naruto nodded, it seemed her shaking had subsided a little. He helped Emilia up and stayed with her until her legs allowed her to stand straight, and walked toward the dressing room.

20 minutes later, Emilia managed to change her clothes with pajamas, and she went into the bedroom with Naruto. He told her to stay on her bed while he went back into the bathroom for a shower.

"Thank you for coming here with me…" Emilia said with a blush as she looked at Naruto who had a T-shirt and shorts.

Naruto smiled lightly at her with a nod, but he was still worried. "Are you really ok, Emilia?" He asked softly.

"I-I'm okay. Don't worry about me!" Emilia said with a light smile as she waved her hand assuring him she's fine. The concern that his eyes showed for her warmed her heart but he had to understand that she was okay.

"Emilia, please, don't lie to me. I need to know." He said, reaching his hand for her cheek and holding it. He knew that there was a part of the story she wasn't telling him.

The half-elf blushed really hard, staring at his azure eyes and feeling his warm hand on her cheek. He just became her knight, he deserved to know. "I've… I've never fallen asleep in the bath, never. But the first time I do, I almost drowned. I think something grabbed me." She said.

"Grabbed you?" Naruto blinked in confusion.

"Yes, I felt as if someone tried to drown me and kill me… I don't know if it was real, but it felt like it." She said as she began to hold his hand on her cheek with her own. "I-I'm scared… Can you stay with me just a little longer?"

"Of course."

"Thank you, Naruto. I want to talk with you a bit before going to sleep." The half-elf said with a troubled expression as she slowly took his hand and grasped it. "Naruto, are you really okay?"

The blond shinobi looked at her in confusion at her question, he looked down at their locked hands before shifted his gaze back to her. "I'm okay. There's nothing wrong with me." He answered.

"Are you sure? I ask because you've been spacing out. I was worried about you." She said as she gripped his hand a bit tighter and continued to look at him.

"I'm sure." He smiled again; placing his other hand on Emilia's head and patting it in an effort to comfort her. It failed as her expression didn't change. "I've been through this before, you don't have to worry."

"I see…" Emilia said. "Do you always risk your life?"

"Yes, I always risk my life to protect my loved ones. I'd risk my life if it meant I could save those I care about." Naruto said.

The half-elf was surprised. Unlike the many people that took that reason to fight, the blond poured his all to fulfill such a simple but complex ideal. For that, she was happy. She likes that about him, thinking about his ideals always warmed her heart.

"Naruto."

"Yes?" Naruto asked.

"How old are you? I'm curious."

The blond smiled at her. "I am 17. I'll turn 18 this year."

"You are 17… That's really unexpected. I thought you were younger." Emilia said with a thoughtful look.

"How old did you think I was?" He asked curiously.

"Well… 12." Emilia said, she almost jumped in surprise when his curious face turned into one of pure disbelief and some anger. She frantically gave him 3 fingers. "13! 13!"

"That's even younger than Felt! Why you…" Naruto approached her, he decided that retribution was in order and began to poke her sides.

"I'm joking, Naruto! I'm joking!" Emilia laughed as he stopped and gave her a pout. She let a small giggle at his childish face. She started to love playing jokes on him after he joked too much with her.

After learning he's 17 years old, she was actually happy about his age.

"Emilia, there's something I want to ask." Naruto said.

"Yes, go ahead. Anything you want to ask."

Naruto glanced back the door, his chakra flared a second searching for anyone that could be listening to their conversation. "Emilia, when did you meet Roswaal? Be honest with me." He said with a serious look on his face.

"...That was a long time ago. He came to me with the insignia, he let me hold it… and once he saw the jewel glow red, he told me about the Royal Selection."

"Why did you join?"

"Because… Roswaal made a promise to me."

Naruto blinked in surprise, Roswaal made a promise to Emilia? "A promise?"

Emilia swallowed nervously. He told her everything, what he was, what he held inside him and his life, so…it's his turn to listen to her truths, he deserved to know.

"He promised me that if I could secure the throne, then surely my wish to melt the ice of the Elior Forest could also be granted."

"…You believed him?"

"I was pretty desperate. He didn't tell me the details of how to melt the ice, but… I accepted his offer and went with Roswaal. Puck didn't object to what I did, so he came with me without saying anything." Emilia said, noticing his eyes are serious. "Naruto, why did you ask?"

Naruto wasn't looking at her. It was hard to say if Roswaal was lying to Emilia or not, but Naruto can't even tell if that clown guy is serious or not about anything. Though he did feel the negative emotions of Roswaal, he didn't know if he could melt the ice for real. The desperation she was feeling was probably because she lived there, and since he had never seen any other elves around it made sense.

But if that was the case, why wasn't Emilia frozen too? ...Could it be that Emilia had something to do with the frozen state of the forest? He wanted to ask her about it but decided against it, if Emilia wanted him to know then she would say it to him.

Roswaal… That clown guy is really up to something... He came to the forest to meet Emilia, apparently by pure coincidence, and offered her to become a candidate, and if she won the election then he would somehow melt the ice Emilia wanted it gone. The more he heard about that man, the more doubts he was begging to have.

"Naruto?" Emilia said worried, looking at his serious face.

"It's nothing, Emilia. Don't worry about me, go to sleep. We have a big day tomorrow, remember?" Naruto asked as the half-elf nodded and lied down on her bed. She pulled the blanket to cover herself.

The blond shinobi was going to say a few words and leave the room, but her arm reached out from under the blanket. Her hand grabbed his hand before he could leave, he turned to her in confusion.

"Emilia, what's up?"

"C-Could you hold my hand? Just until I fall asleep, please?" Emilia asked with a blush.

"Alright." Naruto smiled as he sat back on the chair and gripped her slender hand. He felt its delicate, smooth touch on his palm.

Emilia released her beautiful smile at him as she grasped his hand with two hands now and pulled him toward her. "Thank you for everything." She said as she rested her head on top of Naruto's hand and closed her eyes. It didn't take that long for her to start giving in the peaceful embrace of sleep.

Naruto watched Emilia as she slept peacefully in bed; he brushed her silver bangs from her forehead, and leaned in forward to give her a goodnight kiss on the forehead. Well, he had no choice but to stay in her room until morning. The blond wouldn't mind staying in the room with her, her hand still held his hand firmly anyway so he wasn't going to move and risk waking her up, she was no doubt stressed about the whole almost dying thing. He could tell that she didn't want him to leave her room.

He was going to play guardian angel just that night, he was after all her knight, it would be appropriate that he shield her from everything, including nightmares.

"Have a sweet dream, Emilia."

* * *

"It's about to start." Naruto said, looking at the knights and mages gathered in the room. Well damn, they really want to kill the Hakugei for good.

He saw other people who were from Anastasia's camp if he recalled right. It was a surprise that she joined the hunt with Crusch, though knowing her she just wanted to be mentioned in history as one of the people responsible for killing a Demon Beast.

"Hey, brother!"

His head was grabbed by a huge hand, huge enough to wrap around the top half of it. He turned to the person who held his skull, but it wasn't a person. It was a large humanoid wolf. He has green eyes, a muscular build, and is covered with short brown body fur with an oblong. He wore black toeless pants, black arms guards, and shoulder guard on his right.

"I'm Ricardo, nice to meet you!"

"Naruto Uzumaki." Naruto said as he looked at the logo on the wolf's shoulder guard. "Your logo. I take it you're with Anastasia."

"That's right!" Ricardo said, looking at the two girls who behind the blond boy. "Nice to meet you too, ladies."

"I'm Rem, nice to meet you, Ricardo-sama."

"I'm Emilia, it's nice to meet you."

After greeting the two girls, Ricardo turned to Naruto as he gave him a great smirk. "Hey, hey. These girls sure are lucky to have you, I can tell you're strong." He said.

Naruto smirked at his wild personality. "You know what, I like you Ricardo. Hopefully, we can meet again." He said.

"You have strong eyes. I like it." He said, he let go of Naruto's head when he saw Anastasia. "Hey, my lady!"

"So this is the pride of Anastasia Honshin, the Iron Fang. I see. They all look quite strong." Crusch said, approaching from behind Naruto and the other two as they turned to her. "Did you three sleep well last night?"

"Thank you for letting us sleep in your house." Emilia said bowing slightly in gratitude.

"You're very welcome. I understand your reasons."

Naruto observed over Crusch's armor. "You're fighting too, huh?" He said slightly impressed.

"Did you think that I'd be able to stay behind and do nothing, but wait for the good news?" She smirked. "I'm more surprised that Emilia, and Rem are joining the battle."

"I'm joining because the Hakugei's death is sadly something necessary, the beast has taken far too many lives and caused too much destruction." Emilia said.

"Naruto-kun has trained me to become stronger than ever. Of course I'm going to assist in this fight." Rem said.

"He trained you two? Wow, Naruto. I didn't know you could be a great teacher."

Naruto waved his hand with a cheeky smile. "Oh no, I'm not a great teacher." He said before he felt his sleeve being pulled. He looked down with blinking eyes.

He found a little cute catgirl who had a smile on her face. She has blue eyes and long orange hair which she ties into two tails. She has orange cat ears along with a tail and wore a white robe.

The blond blinked his eyes at the catgirl again until she pointed her finger at him with a cute smile. He was confused. Naruto was going to speak, but she jumped up several times.

"Oni-chan! Oni-chan! Name is Mimi Pearlbaton!" The cute girl introduced. "What's your name?"

"Naruto Uzumaki." The blond shinobi smiled, but changed his expression into a questioning look when Mimi opened her arms. It looked like she wanted him to hug her "...You want me to hug you?"

Mimi nodded happily while jumping up and down several times. Then, the blond accepted her quest as he began to hug her as she hugged him back. She let out a squeal when she was picked by him with no difficulty whatsoever. Without hesitation, Mimi climbed on the man's shoulder, nuzzled up against his cheek, and sat in there with her legs dangling between his head.

"Mimi likes you!" She declared.

Naruto couldn't help but smile at her as he raised one arm and stroked her hair gently with his hand. "I like you too. You look very strong." He said.

"I'm super strong!" She said, closing her eyes when she felt nice and warm feelings from Naruto's ministrations.

"Mimi, don't go bothering people."

Naruto heard a familiar voice as he looked ahead of himself and saw a girl with a white dress.

"Aww… Oni-chan let me sit on his head!" Mimi said with a pout.

"I'm really sorry for any trouble that this girl may have caused… Huh?" Anastasia paused, meeting a very familiar blond boy who she remembered was in the Royal Meeting before. "Well, Well… isn't this a coincidence… you're Emilia's new knight, Naruto Uzumaki."

Emilia saw she was approaching them, so she moved closer to Naruto's back and grabbed his hand. The blond glanced back at her, looking at her eyes becoming fearful, and remembered the other candidates didn't really like her appearance. She wasn't ready to meet Anastasia, so Naruto looked at Anastasia.

"Yes, Anastasia-sama. I'm her new knight." Naruto greeted with her respect, something told him that was the better choice. "I'm surprised you came here, too."

"I see that Mimi started to like you." Anastasia giggled at Naruto and Mimi together. "Uzumaki-san if you join my side, Mimi would love to spend time with you."

"I appreciate your offer, but I belong with my friend Emilia. She asked me before you." He said.

"What a shame, I like you. I heard from Priscilla that she wanted you to be her knight, but you refused her offer."

"I refused her offer because I didn't like her attitude." He said as he looked at Mimi who was still on his head and Ricardo who stood next to Anastasia. "Come to think of it, I don't see Julius around here. I would love to meet him again."

"Oh, my knight Julius. He can't join the hunt with you guys because he's very busy."

Naruto nodded before he heard Crusch's voice speaking to everyone that gathered. "Well, it seems we have to stop here." He said, looking up at Mimi who seemed comfortable in his head. "Mimi, you have to go now."

"Nooo! I don't want to!" Mimi said as she climbed on his shoulder and nuzzled on his cheek.

"Come on now. I don't want you to get in trouble." He smiled as he lifted the little cute girl and placed her down. Then, he crouched down on the knee and stroked her head. "Now go, Mimi. I don't want Anastasia to get mad at you."

"Aww… okay, Naruto-onii chan! Bye-bye!" Mimi said happily while waving her hand at the blond as she walked to Anastasia and Ricardo who was waiting for her.

Naruto waved back to Mimi, and turned to Emilia to see if she's okay. "You okay?" He asked softly, seeing the silver-haired girl nod to him.

"Thank you…I'm sorry for having you cover me…"

"Hey, it's alright. I will do anything whenever you need it, Emilia." He said, patting her head gently.

Emilia blushed at his action but smiled at him for his help. "Thank you, Naruto." She said.

* * *

Several hours later, the group of knights and mages arrived at a massive tree call the Flugel's tree. They planned to camp in here until the Hakugei comes.

"This tree is massive!" Naruto was amazed looking at the massive tree. He hadn't seen such a huge tree since the Shinju and even then that wasn't really a tree. He hoped it wouldn't come to life and attack them, that would be a drag.

"You look like a child, getting excited over something common like a tree." Emilia said while giggling at his reaction.

Naruto chuckled at her before he noticed there was a cut on the tree it seemed like it was made with an ax. "Oh, it looks like people have carved their names into the trunk." He said before he had a sweat drop when he remembered how he cut the god tree.

_"Senpou: Youton Rasenshuriken!"_

Damn, that Rasenshuriken was hella strong and sharp for cutting such a massive tree down. He was surprised that the move almost slipped his mind. Anyway, he should be focused on the Hakugei.

"The Hakugei is near, it will take some time for it to arrive though."

"How can you tell it's coming?" Rem asked looking for the giant whale.

"Well, I sense a great mana presence approaching here with my Sennin mode." Naruto said, leaning his back against the tree as he looked at Rem and Emilia. "I'm one hundred percent positive that the Hakugei will arrive here soon enough."

"So, Naruto…" Rem said as she walked toward him. "Have you fought big monsters in your world?"

"Oh yeah. That was quite a while ago when I fought in the Fourth Shinobi War." Naruto answered. "I fought some big "monsters", that's when I and Kurama became official partners, to face them together."

"I see… you are talking about the Bijuus, am I correct? I remember you told me that a person used a mind-controlling technique to manipulate them." Emilia said.

"That's right." The blond said with a smirk.

Emilia and Rem blinked their eyes at his story. They almost couldn't believe his story, that perhaps he had made it up. But the emotions in his eyes were real and they didn't have a reason to not trust him, since he had said nothing but the truth from the beginning.

So, while the whale was heading their way Naruto brought them with him to find Wilhelm, who he wanted to speak with, and they followed since they had nothing better to do.

The three found him at a flower field while he seemed to be in deep thought.

"Wilhelm-san…" Naruto called him as the old man turned to see him. "I heard a story from Ferris, I think you might be familiar with it. A man that seeks revenge on the Hakugei ever since it took his wife."

"Please forget that. That was time wasted away by delusion." He said with a far look on his eyes.

"You love your wife deeply, don't you?" Rem asked with a smile.

"Indeed, I love my wife. More than anyone and anything, no matter how much time passes. My wife was a woman who loved to look at flowers." Wilhelm said, turning to look at the flowers. "She never wished to wield a sword, but the sword loved her more than anyone. With no choice but to live for the sword, my wife accepted her fate. When I married her, I took it from her, forcing her to abandon the title of Sword Saint. But the sword would not allow her to do that."

He finished the story of his wife, and turned to Naruto as he stared at his azure eyes. "Naruto-dono-no… Naruto Uzumaki, you have the same eyes my wife had. She was a great warrior, and had a good heart. She wore a smile even in the worst of times. She was… so happy."

"I'm honored, but please don't say it like that. I think you might be comparing me to your wife." Naruto said with a lighthearted laugh as he scratched the back of his head lightly. "Your wife was a stronger warrior than I'll ever be-"

"And even when you owe nothing to this world you still help it, just as she would." Wilhelm smiled with his eyes closed, surprising Naruto and the other girls. He gave them a warm chuckled. "The eyes are the windows to the soul. Yours are strong, fearless, and selfless, the qualities of a true warrior… I can only imagine what you fought through to get those eyes." His eyes were open, continuing to look at the blond.

"Wilhelm, did you…did you tell-"

"Your secret is safe with me. Believe me. I swear I won't tell anyone about your secret." He said. "I hope you don't mind if I ask you this. Can you tell me about your parents?"

Hearing his question, Naruto had a great smirk. "My father was a badass shinobi. And my mother was a strong kunoichi! I will become a bigger badass and a stronger shinobi than both my parents!" He said. Sure, he was ridiculously strong compared to both of them but his parents were still great people who sacrificed everything they had to protect their only child, that was going to be hard to top off in his eyes, but he was not going to stop trying.

Wilhelm couldn't help but had to smile at the blond shinobi. This boy was special.

* * *

An hour has passed ever since everyone managed to set the preparations for the Hakugei. Everything was quiet in the night as the cold wind traveled through the grass field. They kept their eyes open and were ready to launch an attack any second.

**"It's here, Naruto." Kurama said.**

Naruto's eyes opened, he looked at Crusch who waited for his signal seeing as he was the best sensor. He nodded to her as she ordered everyone to prepare an attack for the incoming Hakugei. Crusch felt the wind, she can feel it coming here now. She looked at the blond, seeing him calm as he waited for the Hakugei. She noticed his eyes changed into a toad's eyes.

He was so calm gazing up to the sky. Amazing, considering he knew that the Hakugei was coming.

"Above!" One soldier yelled.

It came from the sky, under the bright light of the moon. A gigantic white body flew above the knights and mages; and they felt the great power from it. It's a white whale with a horn on its forehead. It has two long flippers and a glowing pink wheel-like magic on its back, it was supposed to allow the beast to fly.

Crusch looked at the size of Hakugei with a shocked expression but her expression changed to a serious one, she was in command here. "Troops-"

"Al Huma!" Emilia and Rem shouted at the same, shooting ice spears together at the Hakugei. The combined attack pierced through its chin deep enough to draw blood. The Hakugei howled in pain.

The surprises were not over however when a loud boom resounded through the field when no one other than Naruto jumped to ridiculous heights, leaving a crater where he once stood.

"Senpou: Chou Odama Rasengan (Sage Art: Massive Rasengan)!" Naruto came crashing down on its back with massive Rasengan, and though it did enough damage for the beast to cry in pain it seemed that somehow the attack was slowly dispersed by some form of hair in the Hakugei's back. In a burst of wind, the Hakugei expulsed Naruto off itself. He just landed elegantly despite the fact that he just fell hundreds of feet.

Crusch and the troops watched in amazement as the three went up ahead of them. Crusch saw Naruto raising his arm to her while running and smiling. That blond… He's a crazy, reckless fool, it made her grin in determination.

"Troops! Follow those three fools!" She ordered as the troops charged the Hakugei.

There were magic cannons right behind the mages, preparing to launch an attack at the beast. Then, they fired the magic cannons, reaching the Hakugei in the sky, and directly hit its body everywhere. Naruto watched the magical cannons shoot and got amazed at the weapons they used in this world.

Sure, he had seen cannons in his world because he saw a ship that used them, but he had never seen magical cannons.

"Naruto-kun, they're going to use Night-Banisher. Close your eyes!" Rem warned.

The blond nodded as he closed his eyes. He heard they fired it already, and opened one eye to see. The ball of light fired up into the sky and released the brightest light. That flare is so damn bright, and Naruto could see everything as if they were in the middle of the day.

He had to admit that magical technology is amazing.

Now, the Hakugei howled in a rage after being hit by the magical cannons. Its eyes rolled down and found a new target on the ground, it was a blond boy. Its massive body started to dive downwards, chasing him. But, the blond shinobi dodged the giant jaw with pure speed and punched it on the right side of its face with his fist. He continued to do hand-to-hand combat, delivering punches and kicks accompanied by a huge 'boom'.

Naruto delivered the last sage powered kick as he heard Hakugei howling in pain, and began to slide on the ground. He started to chase after it, but someone did a job for him when he saw Wilhelm riding a ground dragon in front of the Hakugei. His eyes were furious, and he had a sword ready to strike.

"For fourteen long years, I have dreamed of nothing but this day. Fall here, and leave your corpse behind, like the monster you are!" He yelled with rage, jumping into the air over the Hakugei, he struck his enemy by stabbing on its head.

Hakugei felt the sword strike and began howling in pain as it flew into the sky, it tried to get rid of him by shaking wildly. Wilhelm slashed everywhere, not letting his enemy go. He was filled with rage and was going to keep slashing until it dies.

_"Amazing!"_ Naruto thought with an amazed expression as he watched Wilhelm fight the Hakugei. His strength is amazing. He doesn't have magic in him, but he can fight without it.

Kurama was right about Wilhelm all long. This old man is dangerous and skillful.

Then, Naruto was shocked when he saw Wilhelm fall off the Hakugei's tail. However, he was fine because his ground dragon ran toward its owner and saved him from falling to his death. As Wilhelm rides on it, he turned and evaded the Hakugei.

Ricardo, the wolf guy charged toward the Hakugei before he slashed its teeth with his hatchet. He turned his wolf to let Mimi and her brother attack the white whale. They shouted their magics, combining them into together to build up power against the Hakugei.

"Troops, fall back!" Crusch yelled, raising her sword as a light glowed on the blade. She swung her sword once, an invisible blade flying toward Hakugei, it slashed it, like an invisible wind jutsu. "Fire! Aim at its flank!" She called out to the mages as they gathered fire magic together.

"Algoa!"

They fired a massive inferno at the Hakugei, damaging the wounded spot as the spells exploded over its body.

"What kind of sword is that?" Naruto asked.

"A phantom sword, with no regard for range. That is Crusch-sama's sword art, famous for its Hundred-Man Strike." Rem said with a concerned expression after she watched the Hakugei being hit by fire magic. "Hopefully, that attack will ground it."

She was disappointed almost immediately as it managed to survive from combined fire spells.

"We used all of our best attacks right from the get-go. And that didn't make it fall, it's a lot tougher than we thought." Ricardo said.

_"I guess the magic attacks won't work. In that case…"_ Naruto's eyes turned sharp as he looked at Ricardo and the troops. "Ricardo! When I make the Hakugei fall to the ground, attack with everything you got."

"Oh… I see. Then, I will go along with your plan." Ricardo smirked.

"And… if you see the light magic, fall back as far you can." He said as he began to charge after Hakugei.

He crossed his fingers, creating a lot of clones to fight along with him, all of them were opening their hands to create Rasengan as they jumped into the air. Since they're all in Sennin mode, their Rasengans have grown to massive sizes. All of them held massive Rasengan, preparing to take Hakugei down on the ground, and allow Ricardo and the troops to attack it.

"Senpo Cho Odama Rasen Tarengan!" They struck the Hakugei, combing their attacks, and resulting in an enormous amount of damage. Their Massive Rasengans managed to stun the white whale down on the ground as its massive body slammed on it.

Naruto saw Ricardo and the troops started to attack the Hakugei when it slammed on the land. So, he told one of the clones to send him up into the sky higher before the whale flies again. Fighting the Hkaugei was pretty easy for him, he could've killed the thing with one attack at the very start of the fight if he desired, but what would be the point of all the army and painting a target on his back. He opened his palm to create a Fuuton Rasenshuriken to end the hunt.

The blond shinobi began to dive down, holding the Fuuton Rasenshuriken, and aiming at the Hakugei by throwing it. He yelled at Ricardo and the troops to fall back from his attack. Naruto was prepared to throw the Rasenshuriken, but something seems odd to him when he saw Hakugei's eyes turning red. Suddenly, its body released some kind of mist, covering the whole area.

He clenched his teeth, throwing the Rasenshuriken at the Hakugei now before it was too late. The shinobi saw the white whale evade his attack, but his eyes were still sharp. The Rasenshuriken expanded to catch the dodging Hakugei. He heard it's painful howling as he landed in the mist.

"He's pissed." Naruto said, looking around the mist to search for the troops. He can't see through with this thick magical mist, so he's going have to find them on his own.

* * *

"It disappeared?" Emilia looked around in the thick mist after the Hakugei released it. She felt a familiar blast coming from the mist and a loud howl.

Naruto must have used the Rasenshuriken to destroy the Hakugei until it released the mist. She can tell that the Hakugei is still alive. The loud howling is hurting her ears.

"Emilia-sama, we're going to move! Hold on tight!" Rem said as she started to ride an earth dragon. Both of them moved forward to find the other groups. They can't see any of them in the mist it was too thick.

"Emilia?! Rem?!"

The half-elf and blue oni heard a familiar voice coming from their left side. They sighed in relief seeing the blond shinobi, running next to their land dragon. He smiled at them when he found them after Hakugei released the mist.

"Are you okay?" Emilia asked in concern.

"I'm okay. We have to regroup with Crusch and stay together before-" Naruto saw the mist blast, coming toward him and the two girls. Both of them dodged the blast by going on the right.

That blast of mist was very strong, they looked down at the ground, it was completely destroyed by the blast. It was almost like a heat ray. The three would have to be careful of the Hakugei's attacks or else they'll end like that.

Emilia and Rem followed Naruto because he still had Sennin mode and his sensory abilities can find the rest of the army. While they're running, there were knights and mages' screaming in fear and pain, getting killed by the Hakugei.

_"That's not good. In that case…"_ Naruto thought, crossing his arms in an x shape, they glowed yellow. He then swung both his arms, creating the powerful wind that blew the mist away, and cleared a large circle.

After clearing the mist, Naruto and the other two could see Crusch with her troops. He also found Wilhelm, Ricardo, and others. Crusch was glad to see them alive from the mist.

"You three alright?" She asked as the three nodded to her and she looked at one of the knights. "How many men did we lose?

"My unit has twenty men left. We're short three."

"Who was lost?"

"I… I don't know."

Naruto swore that there were more men than that. He saw it, but now they don't remember how many men died in the mist… Mist? Hakugei's mist? That's it! That must be Hakugei's ability, the Mizukage had a very similar ability from what he knew and along with that ability was perhaps a genjutsu that affected those within, making them forget about their people.

Well, that ability is too dangerous for everyone here including himself. There's a chance that if people get hit by the Hakugei's mist, the others won't remember them.

The blond shinobi clenched his fists, remembering the past, the war, and the death of so many ninjas. Naruto was going to speak until a loud screech cut him off. The pitch was very high, forcing everyone to clamp their ears to stop listening to it. This sound was terrifying and evil. Some men fell off their land dragons from the loud screech, screaming with fear, and trying to kill themselves to ignore the screech.

Naruto summoned clones to stop those men who tried to kill themselves. All of the clones stopped them from killing themselves, but they couldn't calm them down. Their minds were out of control. Everyone seemed to be having mental breakdowns.

Ferris was on his way to help them, he used his healing magic to remove the effect of the mist.

"Emilia! Rem!" The real Naruto said, running toward them as he checked on them.

"I-I'm okay." Emilia said.

"That screech was made by the fog, it's directly attacking our minds." Rem said, holding her head and trying to fight it back. "But, I'm fine now. I will calm down in a moment."

Naruto was really calm trying to find a way to destroy the Hakugei. His Sennin mode is running out of time. He can still throw the Rasenshuriken without needing Sennin mode because he mastered it and had Six Paths chakra in his system. However, the Rasenshuriken still needed a target and the mist had the exact same magical signature as the Hakugei, which his sense couldn't distinguish as the whale was in constant movement along with the mist.

He's going to have to use Bijuu mode to take down the Hakugei. That would paint a target on his back but he couldn't allow more people to die.

"Emilia, Rem. You two stay here and recover while I'll draw the whale away and buy you some time." Naruto said.

"Wait, Naruto!" said Emilia, getting off the land dragon as she approached the blond. "Go with Rem. I will stay here and help everyone I can."

"Can you?" He looked at Rem who had a smile on her face and nodded. He started to walk with Rem to her land dragon.

Before Naruto went away, his sleeve was pulled by a hand and he turned his head to see Emilia. He saw her place her hand on his heart…

"May the blessing of the spirits be with you." She prayed to Naruto. "Be careful, Naruto. Come back to me."

Naruto smiled at her, patting the half-elf on the head."Always-ttebayo!" He said as he got on the land dragon with Rem and the blue maid started to ride the land dragon.

"Naruto-kun, what's your plan?" The blue oni asked.

"My Sennin mode has a time limit. It'll wear off pretty soon, so I'm going-" Naruto's voice got cut off when he saw the Hakugei appear in front of them, opening its mouth to eat them.

The blond shinobi and the blue oni used their attacks to repel it up. Naruto used a sand fist to uppercut its chin. Rem summoned an ice pike from the ground to stab the same spot where the sand first punched. Their attacks managed to repel the Hakugei.

However, it wasn't over yet because the Hakugei was right next to them.

"Kawazu Tataki (Frog Strike)!" yelled Naruto, delivering a powerful open-handed strike to the Hakugei's eye, sending ripples of natural energy, and destroying the eyeball. But, after he destroyed its eyes, his Sennin mode finally worn off.

His body started to release a golden aura, getting noticed by Rem who rode the land dragon. She realized Naruto was going to use Bijuu's power to fight against the Hakugei. The blond was ready to fight but stopped when Wilhelm stabbed the Hakugei with his sword.

Then, the two sibling cats jumped into the air with their ligers, they shouted at the Hakugei with their scream magic together and called Ricardo. The wolf guy and his liger landed on the Hakugei's body, stabbing in its body as he dragged his weapon forward.

"It's tougher than I thought, but he ain't that strong after all, eh?" Ricardo wondered.

"No… its resistance is far too weak. I find it hard to think that my wife… The Sword Saint fell to this… Looking at how we ambushed it, and how it didn't separate us with its mist first-" Wilhelm was cut off when the Hakugei howled and flew up into the air. Both of them fell off of its body, but Wilhelm sliced its fin before he landed on his land dragon safely.

"Wilhelm-san." said Naruto, seeing the old man approach them.

"Stay sharp! We don't know where it'll come from." Wilhelm said.

"Damn, he sure is taking his time." Ricardo said.

They all looked around for the Hakugei and watched out for its attack. Since Wilhelm, Ricardo, and the others are with Naruto, now he can use Sennin mode again instead of using Bijuu mode. He just needed to borrow Kurama's chakra, so he can enter Sennin mode faster-

"Above us!"

Naruto looked up at the sky, and saw a mist blast. Everyone had to scatter, escaping from the mist blast until it reached the ground. Naruto grabbed Rem's waist when they fell off their land dragon from the blast.

"Naruto-kun, are you okay?!" Rem worried.

"Yeah, I'm okay." He said, clenching his teeth for not using the Sennin mode. He believed that Hakugei knows he is a threat. He could access Sennin mode in a second but the mist seemed to be affecting the natural energy.

"Wilhelm!"

The loud voice caught Naruto's attention as he looked at Wilhelm who collapsed, he was about to be eaten by the Hakugei. This part brought Naruto's mind back to the past, remembering the ninjas who died in the war for him. He lost his parents, his sensei, and a good friend.

It was a sad memory, but he didn't want to regret anything. He never wanted to think about their deaths again, "I should have…"! This time he wouldn't let anyone die as long as they were his comrades! He ran toward Wilhelm and saved him from his death. He delivered a powerful elbow strike on the Hakugei's jaw, breaking its damn teeth, and causing it to howl in pain once again.

Wilhelm was shocked at the boy's speed. "Naruto, you…" He said, noticing his eyes looked different. His eyes were filled with fury and seriousness.

"I won't let anyone die on my watch!" He yelled as his left arm glowed with yellow chakra.

"Y-You're kidding…"

The blond heard one of the men speaking fearfully, he was confused until he heard howling in his ears, he turned up to the sky as his eyes tightened. He found three Hakugei, flying in the sky, though it was obvious to him that the three were notoriously less powerful than the original. He looked at Rem who had fear on her face, holding her hand with his to comfort her. This seemed to calm her somewhat, as she was no longer shaking.

He closed his eyes, and let go of her hand which caused her to look at him. Rem received a gentle stroke on her head, noticing his smiling smiled. She was sure she heard him whispering, "Don't worry. Leave the three to me." as he walked past her. Then, she felt a warm feeling from him, looking at his aura surrounding him.

His sweater changed into a yellow flame cloak with black stripes on the back. His hair got even spikier than normal and changed its blond color into a glowing yellow. His skin turned yellow and three black stripes replaced his whiskers.

"Naruto-kun, you…" Rem said shocked as she looked at his yellow fox eyes.

"Kurama, let's do this." He called out his partners name with a smirk, summoning a gigantic yellow fox with black stripes.

**"Time to kick some monster ass!" Kurama smirked as he began to roar at the Hakugei, making a powerful shockwave that blew the mist away. His roar caught everyone's attention.**

Emilia watched Naruto in his new form releasing his true power. She had never seen his true form before. Looking at him, he looks much more handsome than before. She felt his strength and his warmth; all her fear and horror was washed away in an instant by his yellow chakra.

This feeling Naruto had… It was so nice and full of warm feelings. Even he's in Bijuu mode, he still was a light source for those around him.

* * *

The battle between the shinobi and the beast has begun.

Naruto in Bijuu mode dashed toward the first Hakugei, delivering a great punch right on its jaw, and its gigantic body got slammed on the ground. The first whale tried to use mist magic, but two massive Rasengan smashed against the attack and dispersed it. Naruto used two giant chakra arms to perform two Massive Rasengan size to stop the Hakugei before it'll release more mist magic.

The shinobi breathed calmly, he took in the running stance and eyed on the whale before he vanished in a Yellow Flash. "Bijuu Senkōdan (Tailed Beast Flash Bullet)!" He yelled, delivering a fast combo of punches and kicks to the Hakugei. He finished with one last kick to its head and knocked it down.

However, this one is a clone. The real one is up in the sky, roaming around, and resting while the two clones fight Naruto and Kurama for it.

Well, Kurama didn't have any problem fighting the second clone as Naruto watched him. The gigantic yellow fox grabbed Hakugei, lifted its body, and did a wrestling move by throwing it on the ground. He raised his fist and punched straight on its face, making it howl in pain.

**"Ahh… it feels good to be outside." The fox smirked as he looked at Naruto. "Naruto, take down the real one. The two clones are mine."**

"Alright then, but don't use Bijuu Dama (Tailed Beast Bomb)! You hear me!" Naruto yelled as he used substitution with a recently created clone and went after the real Hakugei. Well, he had to use a sand platform to fly up.

The blond flew up into the sky to go after the real Hakugei while Kurama fights the two clones. When he saw the whale was closed, he jumped up from his sand platform and grabbed on its body with his chakra arms. Dashing toward its head, he made his first move by punching it once. Hakugei's began to fall when its head got punched by Naruto's fist.

Naruto jumped off the Hakugei, continuing to attack its body without letting it go. This time, it won't escape from him because he planned to slam it on the ground from this height. The shinobi delivered an uppercut its jaw, grabbed its horn with a chakra arm in a bigger size, and broke it off before he stabbed it right up its mouth to lock it. He looked down at Kurama, already finished with his job for taking out the two clones.

Then, Naruto grabbed the Hakugei with giant chakra arms and threw its massive body at the ground. Finally, he created Rasenshuriken, aiming at the whale. "Fuuton Rasenshuriken!" He threw the Rasenshuriken at the whale and directly impacted its body, releasing a vortex of wind.

Everyone could feel the blast from the vortex that the blond warrior made to take down the Hakugei. The sunrise was finally up before the blast blew the mist away. Not only the mist, but the flowers were caught by the blast, flying in the air, and around him.

Naruto turned around to see everyone who had shocked expressions on their faces. He entered Bijuu mode, so he could protect his friends and comrades, though he could do without the spotlight, something he was sure his old self would relish in.

**"I'm leaving right now, Naruto." Kurama said as his body faded away and received a nod from Naruto.**

Kurama went back inside him. Naruto sighed, relaxing as he began to walk, but he stopped once he saw Emilia coming toward him. She slowly approached him; her eyes stared at his yellow eyes and sensed the powerful chakra in him. Without second thoughts, she took his hand and grasped it which made Naruto surprised.

Emilia felt his warmth in her hand. She definitely understood now the true depths of power, and people trusted in him. He would do anything for his comrades. He may be lost so many comrades in the war in his world, but something he had inside him. It was a spirit inside him who gave him a chance and always be in his heart.

Kurama and the other Bijuus chose Naruto because he was kind-hearted and respectful. He showed his kindness to them even though they're Bijuus and hated humans; he still never gave up and found a way to break their hatred. Emilia understood why Kurama trusts Naruto so much and let him use his chakra.

"Emilia, something wrong?" Naruto asked.

The half-elf shook her head and lifted his hand to her cheek. "You really are a hero. The greatest shinobi in the world." She smiled, having the tears on her face. His thumb cleaned the tears for her.

"Emilia." He said softly before he saw Wilhelm walks toward them. "Wilhelm?"

"Naruto Uzumaki, thank you for saving my life." He said as he bowed with his knee on the ground, showing great respect for his savior. "Emilia-sama, your knight has saved my life and others from the Hakugei. I thank you, and I want to apologize that my race treated you like a witch."

Emilia stared for a moment, before a smile crossed her face. "It's fine, Wilhelm-san. Please stand up." She said.

Wilhelm stood up from the ground, looking at both of them and noticed they're holding hands. He smiled at them and understood why Emilia chose Naruto to be her knight. She's falling in love with him, but doesn't understand what it means. In time she would understand. Their relationship would inevitably grow one day.

Her knight, Naruto Uzumaki was the only human who could make her happy. Maybe, Naruto and Emilia could be a perfect match in the future.

"Hakugei has fallen! The witchfiend of fog, which has terrorized the world for centuries, has been struck by Naruto Uzumaki!"

That was Crusch's shout. Then, everyone snapped out of their stupor and cheered for Naruto Uzumaki, who struck down Hakugei.

Naruto finally deactivated his Bijuu mode, but he still held Emilia's hand. They didn't let go from each other. Emilia wanted to hold his hand for a little longer or…much longer than that.


	12. Chapter 12

**This chapter has been edit by the same editor, XPartan Caos. All the credits to the editor for grammar, editing, and spelling.**

**Note: Yes, I will continue on Arc 4 and 5. I will try my best to follow the web novel.**

* * *

Naruto, Emilia, and Rem finally returned to Roswaal's territory. The place seemed to be recovering the energy it lost after the villagers were evacuated from their homes, since more than one family already came back once they were sure it was safe.

"I'm relieved they came back safely." Said Emilia, having a relieved expression seeing the villagers again.

"Yea, my clones searched everywhere for any enemies that could endanger them, but found none." The blond said as he looked at Rem. "Hey, Rem, how long does it take to go to the Sanctuary? Only half of them are already here, and I didn't sense the other half"

"Eight hours away from here in a carriage." said Rem.

Naruto nodded to her, and he's still pissed with Roswaal for letting the Witch Cult attack his territory, where he knew people lived. He couldn't forgive and didn't want to hear his dumb excuses. He had no excuses to retain from killing that club of fucking psychopaths since he knew that he had the power to.

The shinobi hates that fucking clown for leaving the villagers behind. He learned recently that Roswaal found Emilia in a frozen forest and promised to her that he would melt the ice that trapped it as long as Emilia was elected as the new King. Well, that is bullshit to Naruto! There was no way that the wizard clown can melt that ice and fulfill the promise he made to Emilia.

It took them 10 minutes in the carriage to finally reach Roswaal's mansion. Naruto took a good look around the place and was surprised that the mansion remained really clean since they left. Strange, it almost looked like it was frozen in time, the only thing missing was its inhabitants.

"Huh… Nothing has changed in." Naruto commented.

"It seems like it, Beatrice-sama should be inside the mansion." Rem said with a strange look on her face as she looked at the mansion. Something bothered her about this.

When Emilia jumped off the carriage, she walked towards Naruto. "Is it just me or someone got here before us?" She asked, he was inclined to agree with her, something was definitely wrong, mansions didn't clean themselves.

Naruto and Rem unsheathed their weapons preparing to attack the intruder inside. Emilia had her magic ready and waited for Naruto's signal before going in. Then, she watched her knight unlock the door with a key, open it slowly, and peeking inside.

The blond went inside first, he stayed on guard as he scanned the place for an intruder. He didn't find negative emotions from an intruder.

"This cannot be…"

He looked at Rem who spoke and had a shocked expression on her face. Her body was shaking for some reason. The noise of steps caught his attention as he turned to the stairs and found a figure, but it didn't seem like an intruder.

The figure was female. She has long blonde hair and green eyes. She wore a maid uniform like Rem and Ram.

Naruto looked at Rem who seemed to be shocked, he began to lower his kunai and approached her.

"Frederica? Is that you?" Rem asked, shocked to see her since she quit her job and left the mansion. She hasn't seen her for several months.

"Hello, Rem and Emilia-sama." Frederica spoke with a warm smile as she bowed to the three, she figured that the blond was a guest in the mansion since the girls seemed to be at ease in his presence. "I believe you must be a new guest. I'm Frederica Baumann."

"Yeah, I'm Naruto Uzumaki." He replied, noticing her teeth were sharp fangs when she smiled.

"Naruto-kun, this is Frederica Baumann. She was a maid alongside us for a long time." Rem introduced.

"I see. Ram told me there were three maids in the mansion before. So, I take it that was you then." Naruto said.

"Yes, that was me." Frederica said with a nod, noticing Rem smiling at Naruto. This was her first time looking at her smile so fondly, Rem didn't do that in the past. "Rem, has something changed since the last time we saw each other? You seem much happier."

The blue-haired oni turned to Frederica with a warm smile on her face. "Naruto-kun helped me realize a lot of things that had to do with my past. He's been much help lately, he also saved my life. He's Emilia-sama's knight." She said with closed eyes as she placed her hands on the heart.

"Thank you for saving Rem's life, Naruto-sama. I didn't know that you're Emilia's knight." Frederica said as she bowed to Rem's savior and Emilia's knight. She then looked at Naruto when he made a hand gesture, waving at her to stop.

"P-Please, call me Naruto. I would rather have my name without the sama." Naruto said with a smile.

Frederica accepted his request as she bowed to him again. "Very well, Naruto. I shall call you by your name." She said.

"Frederica, why are you here?" Emilia asked the important question.

"I came back to visit you until I discovered the events that lead to you going to the city." The blond maid was talking about the lack of people in the mansion since she noticed the villagers coming back. "Beatrice explained everything to me, I'm glad you're all safe."

"Were you planning to leave when we…came back?" Emilia asked.

"Yes, I will stay here and help you three." She said as she looked at all three and realized why are they here. "I take it that you three are planning to go to the Sanctuary."

"Yeah, but actually, I will go visit Sanctuary today on my own. Emilia and Rem can stay-"

"Naruto, please don't say that… You know I don't like it when you do." Emilia interrupted him by grabbing his hand making blond look at her. "We just got here after battling the Hakugei. You need to wait here until you're well-rested. You can't go on your own, not in the state you're in right now." She gripped his hand to keep him by her side.

"Emilia, I'm okay. Really. I can-"

"Emilia-sama is right. You need to stay and rest until tomorrow." Rem added joining with Emilia, showing Naruto a begging expression on her face. She went in front of him to stop him from going out. "You saved everyone from their deaths and you defeated the Hakugei. Stay here and rest, that's the least you deserve."

"Please Naruto… You're my knight. As your candidate, I order you to stay here and rest first." The half-elf said. "Do it for me…"

Frederica covered her mouth in shock at the two girls, their attitude was very different from what she remembered, in the past Rem wouldn't care and Emilia would be too shy to say anything, but here they were practically ordering him to rest. This blond human was quite a stubborn man. Emilia had a strong bond with her knight, Frederica could tell by looking at her worried expression.

Frederica let a small giggle and decided to join up with two. She didn't know what he was capable of but he could use a little rest since the ride here alone could tire a normal person. Since he was apparently such a nice person she was going to help him.

"They're right, Naruto. You three just came here and didn't have a chance to rest. And, you can't deny Emilia because you're her knight." She said with a warm smile.

Naruto couldn't help but blush looking at Emilia's face. Damn, her face is angelic again and his heart skipped a beat. That was the second time Emilia showed her 'angel face'.

He sighed with a defeated sigh, changing his expression into a smile for Emilia and Rem. "Alright, I'll stay and rest here." He said, earning two smiles from the half-elf and blue oni.

* * *

"Hey, Beatrice." Naruto said as he entered the library and found Beatrice. He sighed with relief to see her safe.

"The mansion's gotten noisy since you came back-kashira." She said, reading her book as she gazed at the blond. "However, you came back as you promised."

"Told you I'd come back for you." He said as he sat on the floor and looked at Beatrice. She's still the same person he remembered. "Is everything alright? I heard you met Frederica."

"Yes, she's a demi-human but at least she isn't so noisy."

"A demi-human? I should've guessed…" Naruto remembered Frederica's fangs when she smiled. "I noticed she has fangs. What is she?"

"She can transform into a large leopard beast." She replied.

Naruto didn't know Frederica could turn into a leopard, but he had seen some people transform in his world, like turning into a demon or turning into an animal. So, it wasn't his first time to see it.

"So, why are you here for? Want me to kick you?" Beatrice asked with a harsh tone.

"So mean of you. I'm hurt. Emilia, Rem, and I are going to Sanctuary to meet the other villagers." He said with a sad look.

Beatrice gave him a "Hmph" when she closed the book before she stood up. She returned the book to the bookshelf and reached to grab another beside it, having some problems due to her height. Then, she saw Naruto who walked beside her and reached for the book was looking for. At his action, something came in her mind.

Her eyes widened slightly, and she stared at Naruto's straight posture while reaching for the book. His body changed into black color, and he wore a yellow light-coat made out of pure light. Beatrice saw an ancient black circle on his sleeves and 9 comas on his back. For the first time since they met each other, she saw the true depths of his power, and she felt that she was in the presence of a divine being.

"This one, right? Beatrice?" Naruto called uncertainly, noticing her staring at him. His voice snapped her from her dazed state as she blinked in confusion at him. "You're alright?"

"What?" Her cheeks flushed slightly and she coughed into her fist, forgetting everything she saw. "I'm fine. The one next to it-kashira."

Naruto grabbed the book from the bookshelf and handed it over to Beatrice who accepted by hugging it to her chest. The blond sat down next to her, watching her read the book she had now.

"I won't thank you-kashira." Beatrice said.

"You're welcome." He grinned as he put his hands back of the head to relax. "Emilia and Rem were worried about you. You should go out and say hi to them."

"They're worrying about nothing I…"

"Enough saying "nothing" of this, Beatrice. We all care about you and will never leave your side. Don't forget that. We came back for you because we care about you and you are our friend. The reason why I came to visit you was because…"

Beatrice looked at him carefully, waiting for his words. "Because?" She asked curiously.

"I'm here to set you free, Beatrice. I'm going to get you out of here, so you can have your freedom." Naruto answered with serious eyes.

The book dropped from her hands as she looked at Naruto with a shocked expression on her face. This human… He didn't seem to lying to her.

So, he came back for her because he wanted her to be free and join him outside. She was…surprised. " You came back to take me out of here? Are you serious?" She asked.

"Of course I'm serious. If there's a way, then I'll never give up until I find it to set you free. There are lots of things you don't know about me." The blond shinobi said, giving her his best reassuring smile "Believe me or not, but I helped the bijuus to give them freedom in my world, so you could say I'm familiar with unbreakable curses."

Beatrice didn't answer him but kept looking at him with a hopeful expression. She knew he wasn't lying about helping the bijuus, they had that conversation a while ago.

Could he be "that person" who could set her free from this place?

"Anyway, Beatrice, there's something I wanted to show you." Naruto said, taking out the gospel that belonged to Petelgeuse. He didn't know what language it was written in, that's why he brought it to Beatrice. "This book is written in a strange language. I thought you'd know about-" He paused when he saw Beatrice's eyes widen.

"A gospel? Why, how do you…"

"I took it from a corpse named Petelgeuse, he was in charge of the Witch Cult that attacked the village. I killed him to stop his horrible acts. I took his book because I thought it had information about the Witch of Envy and her connection with the Sin Archbishops." Naruto said as he handed the gospel over to her and she took it from him. He watched Beatrice, tracing her fingers over the cover with more emotions on her face that he remembered seeing.

The expression she had when she looked at the gospel was one of longing, she seemed to remember something long since buried in her memory.

"You left me behind too-kashira, Juice…" She mumbled quietly.

"Who?" Naruto was sure he heard her mumbling a name.

"I… I'll tell you a bit. More importantly, if you're the one who killed Sloth, what happened to the Witch Factor- kashira."

"Witch Factor? I don't know what you're talking about, all I know about Sin Archbishops is that they represent a sin."

"I see... Naruto, if I'm correct…did you fight the Hakugei?" Beatrice looked at him with a serious expression on her face. She smelled the Hakugei's scent on him, since he was powerful he no doubts injured or even killed the beast.

"Yeah, I killed the whale, but I wasn't alone."

"I see… Then for what on purpose did you kill Sloth-kashira. I don't understand." Beatrice was surprised he killed the Hakugei, one of the Three Great Demon Beasts.

She had to be real, Beatrice knew that the blond human killed the Hakugei by himself with a powerful technique. He could take down all the Three Great Demon Beasts by himself if it came down to it.

Naruto blinked his eyes in confusion at the expression on her face. He had no idea why she's asking this. "Well… he tried to kill the villagers then he tried to kidnap Emilia because she was a possible vessel for Satella. I had to end his life before he did any of that." He answered carefully, looking carefully at her expression.

Beatrice changed her expression into her normal one with a sigh. "I-I see… I understand why you killed Sloth." She said as she looked at the gospel.

Petelgeuse died… She couldn't believe it… She didn't know the person in charge of the Witch Cult would be him.

"Beatrice?" asked Naruto, seeing Beatrice hug the gospel with a sad expression on her face. It was rare to see her show so many emotions, specially since she found out Petelgeuse's death, who he saw as nothing but a mad man.

Perhaps they knew one another from before he became whatever he was before his death, it had to be buried in Beatrice's mind for her to show so many emotions. Maybe, she didn't know that Petelgeuse was a bad person since she met him as a good one.

Naruto walked towards her and kneeled at her level to see her face. "Beatrice, if you don't want to talk about him it's okay, I won't force you. I'm here to know about the Sanctuary, so I thought you'd know-" He was shocked as she flung herself into his chest and dropped him on the ground with her. "Beatrice?"

He looked down at Beatrice; she's holding his sweater tight with her small hands, she never looked at him. She didn't want him to see her emotions as she buried her head into his chest. The blond man had no choice but to hug her back as he wrapped his arms around her small body.

_"Why? Why am I…?"_ Beatrice thought, she didn't know why she hugged him and cried. She felt pain in her heart…

* * *

Ever since she got back to the mansion with Emilia-sama and Naruto-kun, things weren't looking good for Naruto. She didn't know what happened between him and Roswaal, or why he got angry at him.

Naruto told her, Emilia, and Frederica the truth about Roswaal's actions. He had already told Beatrice about him and Puck listened to him from Emilia's crystal necklace. They listened to Naruto and he told them that Roswaal couldn't be trusted. He had no proof other than the contradicting actions Roswaal had done in the past and recently, buy his eyes showed that he knew that to be the truth.

Rem was aware that Naruto could detect people's negative emotions, he found such emotions from Roswaal since the very beginning.

_"Is he telling us the truth?"_ Rem thought with a worried expression.

She is loyal to Roswaal because he saved her and her sister from a terrible fate in the hands of the Witch Cultists. However, he wasn't the one who guided her to be the person she was right now. The one who opened her eyes was Naruto Uzumaki. Even worse Roswaal seemed to be willing to doom Irlam village to a destiny similar to her own, while Naruto did everything in his power to stop them.

She confessed her love feelings to him, but she knew that his heart belonged to Emilia. Rem chose to tell him because she wanted to get it out of her chest. Emilia should be happy for having Naruto as her knight. If he stays longer with her, maybe his life would change just as much as he had changed their lives.

Rem opened the main doors which lead her outside the mansion, taking a breath, and feeling the breeze and the sun she relaxed for a second.

"Welcome back, Naruto-kun. How are things going?" She asked with a smile.

"Things are fine. I set up traps in the forest, so nothing will sneak in to attack the villagers." Naruto said, the fact that he explored the surroundings of the village once didn't mean that something wouldn't appear while he wasn't in the mansion, walking past her he stopped and turned to see her. "Oh, Rem! Petra wants to take a job as a maid here. Do you think she can work here?"

The blue maid blinked her eyes in shock at his words, but she nodded anyway. "Yes, Petra can take a job here. And Naruto, I actually want to talk with you. Can we walk while we talk?" She asked.

"Yeah, sure." said Naruto, walking with Rem in the garden, he was curious as to what Rem wanted. "What's up?"

"…Are you…" Rem swallowed as she grasped her hands tight and looked at him. "Are you still angry at Roswaal-sama?"

Naruto fell silent. His smile vanished as he stared at Rem, his fist clenched in anger, not showing her his angry expression. He really hated Roswaal right now.

"Yes, I'm still angry at him for leaving the villagers behind. But, I might have an idea of something he did." He said as he turned to Rem. "Promise me you won't tell anyone. Elsa was hired by Roswaal to steal Emilia's insignia, he tried to assassinate her."

"Wh-What?! That's impossible. H-How?"

"Me and the other Bijuus talked about Roswaal. We finally found something out, Elsa was hired by Roswaal."

"Naruto-kun, how can you be sure that Elsa was hired by Roswaal-sama?" Rem asked.

"I'm definitely positive, Rem, and trust me. I've been dealing with people like him in my world." Naruto said. "I don't know why Roswaal hired Elsa to kill Emilia, but I'm going to find out the truth."

Rem felt uncomfortable about his assumptions. "Naruto-kun…" Her voice turned soft as she approached him and grabbed his hand to make him look at her.

"Rem, is something wrong?" He asked. Rem shook her head and her body trembled. "Hey, what's wrong?"

"I don't want you to kill Roswaal-sama… I know the truth about him, but he saved my sister and me from the Witch Cult."

"Hey, relax. I'm not going to kill him. I just want to know his reasons. That's all, Rem." He said as he put his hand on Rem's head and stroke gently. He heard her giggling and saw her smiling, so he smiled at her.

Naruto wasn't going to kill Roswaal unless the clown guy attacked him first. He needs to know why he hired Elsa to steal Emilia's insignia and kill her.

However, Roswaal saved Rem and Ram from being attacked by the Witch Cult. He seemed to know when the Witch Cult would attack their village. Was he the one behind Rem and Ram's village massacre?

"Naruto-kun?" The blue oni said worried, looking at him spaced out for a minute. Her voice reached him as he tilted to her.

"I'm fine, Rem. I was thinking about going to the Sanctuary tomorrow"

"Yes, you're right!"

* * *

Frederica finished preparing the bedrooms for the three, including her, and walked in the hallways. Everyone was eating dinner already since they have already bathed after battling with the Hakugei. She was surprised the Hakugei was dead and the one that killed it was Naruto.

As if her thoughts summoned him she saw Naruto looking at the sky through the window. She approached him and stood next to him, causing him to look at her.

"Hey, Frederica. What are you doing here?" Naruto asked.

"I finished preparing the bedrooms for you three to sleep. You should go rest for tomorrow. The road to the Sanctuary is a long ride" She said.

"Yeah, I know that, but I want to stay here for a little longer." He continued to look at the sky and stars. "So, tell me about yourself, Frederica. I heard from Beatrice that you're a demi-human who can turn into a leopard."

"Yes, indeed I am." Frederica said with a smile. "How was talking with her?"

"She's still the same I remembered her to be when I first met her, but we're all cool." He chuckled lightly.

Frederica was surprised that Beatrice let the boy in her room and he talked with her without her kicking him out. "I see. By the way, I noticed you and Emilia have a strong relationship since I first saw you. You're human, but you're not afraid of her appearance. Why is that?" She said.

"Why would I be afraid of her? She was sweet, kind, and warm. She didn't have much experience with people, so I became her first friend." Naruto said a lighthearted smile.

Now, Frederica understood why Emilia chose him to become a knight, his kindness naturally attracted her toward him. He wasn't like the other humans who disliked her for being a half-elf. "I'm happy she chose you as the knight, Naruto. She seems to be very happy." She smiled.

"I tried my best to make her happy. The people of Irlam Village finally accepted her as a normal person. They were happy with her because she helped them when they needed it the most." Naruto said. "How long have you worked here?"

"I became a new servant when I was twelve years old. It has already been over ten years since then."

Wow, she's a little older than him. Naruto would guess that she's 22 years old. She certainly had worked here for a long time.

So, Rem and Ram came after her, working to be new maids after Roswaal rescued them.

"Oh, you're mistaken, Naruto. Rem and Ram are my seniors." Frederica said quickly, informing him before Naruto thinks she was here first.

"Really? Oh wow… I guess you three were close?"

"I doted on Rem, wanting her to call me nee-sama. But around the time we worked together, Rem would only look at Ram." The blond maid said, thinking about Rem's new personality when she met her today. She has changed so much because of this blond human. "Come to think of it, I'm surprised you talked with Rem and she smiled at you, she didn't usually talk with guests in the past."

"Yeah, I know that, but you should've come back sooner. I'm sure Rem would've loved to see you again." Naruto said.

"You saved her life and changed her for the better. I'm really happy that you did it for her." She said.

"That's what friend do-ttebayo." He smiled, putting his arms behind his head and looking at her. "Say… can you tell me about the Sanctuary? You seem to know that place."

"Of curse, the Sanctuary is a village located within Roswaal's territory, but it's poor. A group of Demi-humans lived there, and I'm sure the villagers of Irlam village are there right now. Don't worry about them; I'm sure they won't do anything bad to them."

"Then, why don't the villagers just leave the Sanctuary?"

"It is because the Sanctuary has a barrier that prevents demi-humans from going through it. For example: since they entered the Sanctuary, some of them aren't allowed to leave, and I suppose the others stayed to keep them company."

"Wait a minute… What?! What do you mean they're not allowed to leave?" He asked with a shocked expression, learning about the Sanctuary stunned him.

"The barrier was created by Echidna, the Witch of Greed who was killed by the Witch of Envy." Frederica said.

Holy shit! No one told Naruto about the Sanctuary being created by the Witch of Greed, who creates a barrier that can't allow the villagers to leave. Well… that was stupid! So, demi-humans aren't allowed to leave the place, and he made half of the people of Irlam move there!

He closed his eyes for a bit and took a breath slowly, figuring out what to do next. "In that case, I guess I have to find a way to set demi-humans and the villagers of Irlam village free from that barrier." He said.

"You want to free the demi-humans, too?" Frederica said stunned.

"I guess I have a choice, but leaving the demi-humans behind to their luck isn't my thing. So, I'm willing to help them leave the Sanctuary."

Frederica widened her eyes with shock at Naruto's willingness to help demi-humans. Not a single human ever attempted that because the Sanctuary was created by Echidna, the Witch of Greed herself. However, this human right here isn't afraid of anything.

It was official, she was glad he was Emilia's knight.

"You are quite an interesting human, Naruto." The blond maid said with a light smile.

"You know Frederica even though you're a beast human you sure are beautiful." Naruto said with a lighthearted smile, causing the blond maid to blush.

"I-I am?" She asked, playing with her blonde hair with both her hands. It was her first time hearing such kind words from this human. "Thank you for being so kind to me, Naruto…"

"You should stay here and be a maid again. There's no reason for you to quit the job again. Rem has changed, and I'm sure that you two will work it out someday."

"Thank you for being so kind again." Frederica said, smiling back to him. "Well, I'll leave the Sanctuary to you, Emilia, and Rem. One more thing, beware of a guy named Garfiel."

"Garfiel? Is he your ex or something?"

"No! He's my brother…and-oh never mind! When you enter the Sanctuary, you need to be careful of him."

* * *

"Is everything ready, Rem?" Naruto asked, looking at the blue-haired maid who just came out from the carriage after packing some things for their journey.

"Yes, Naruto-kun, everything is ready." Rem nodded as she looked at Frederica. "Frederica, you can come with us. I'm sure your brother wants to see you."

"I'd love to go with you, but I want to stay here and guard this place." She said as she turned to Naruto and walked toward him. "Naruto, listen very carefully. It has been a long time since I left my home there, but when you enter the barrier, Garfiel will be there in no time and will think of you as an intruder."

"Got it, Frederica."

"After you pass the barrier, you will have to fight Garfiel or tell him that you're with me. One more thing, if you pass the barrier, you three won't able to leave the Sanctuary."

After hearing her warnings Naruto nodded to her as he turned around and headed toward the carriage. They were waiting for Emilia who was changing her clothes.

He breathed slowly, preparing himself to travel to the Sanctuary, and finding a way to break down the barrier. Frederica's information was certainly helpful but It didn't bring him any closer to figuring out how to break the barrier. The barrier was created by Echidna, so Naruto had to be careful of any surprise she most likely left behind.

"Sorry! Did I make you wait?"

"Oh no, we just finished pack-" His voice was caught in his throat when he saw Emilia in her new clothes.

The half-elf wore a white dress with a short skirt and pink choker tied around her neck. Her arms were covered with white sleeves, and she wore white boots. She had a pink short cloth tied around her waist.

Seeing her like this, Naruto was surprised at her new dress and instantly lost his words. He couldn't help but blush at her dress and how pretty she was in it, very pretty.

"I…I decided try something new since I saw your new clothes." Emilia asked with a blush, rubbing her sleeve as she shyly looked at Naruto. "Naruto… how do I look?"

"Y-You look great." He said. "Ehem! We should get inside the carriage."

"Y-You're right."

"Please, wait! Naruto-sama…"

A familiar voice caused the blond shinobi to turn around and see a cute girl in a maid outfit with reddish-brown hair. Petra took a maid's job today and it was her first day, luckily they had the old maid dresses the younger maids used.

"Please take this with you!" Petra said, giving him a white handkerchief. She sewed the embroidery herself wanting to give it to her savior.

Naruto smiled at her as he grabbed the handkerchief. "Thank you, Petra. I will keep it safe." He said as he stroked the girl's head gently before he got in the carriage.

"You two take care of the mansion." Emilia said waving at them.

* * *

"So Puck really hasn't shown up in a while, huh?" Naruto said, looking at Emilia who looked at her necklace in worry.

"No, he hasn't. I've called him so many times, and I can still sense his presence, but…this is the first time he's gone that long without coming out. I'm a little worried." Emilia said as she held her necklace and wondered why Puck hadn't shown up yet.

They sat next to each other and talked in the carriage. It was strange that Puck hasn't shown up since they left the mansion. Puck has been missing more since Naruto killed Petelgeuse and the Hakugei.

Naruto looked at Emilia, he was worried about Puck too. He reached for her hand and held it with his own as the half-elf turned to look at him. "There's no need to worry, even without Puck, I'm here for you. I'm your knight and your friend. I will protect you no matter what happens, I swear." He said.

"Naruto…" She said softly as she accepted his hand and rested her head on his shoulder. A warm smile crossed her face, caused by his words.

He's right. She shouldn't be troubled about Puck's absence because her knight is here with her. His actions. His words. They're the ones that always kept her calm, made her smile, and comforted her. Naruto is a good friend with a good soul, and he always stayed right beside her. No matter what happens, he will always protect her.

Emilia noticed her hand still holding his own, but she didn't want to let go of it. She wouldn't mind if his hand is holding hers, she liked it.

"Thank you for everything, Naruto." She said gently.

The blond shinobi nodded with a smile on his face. "You're welcome, Emilia." He said.

The shinobi felt a sudden spike of natural energy and he reacted by looking at the forest outside. They arrived far sooner that he thought possible for the carriage.

"We're here, aren't we?" Emilia said sleepily, she didn't even look outside the window to confirm it.

"Eh? How did you know?" He asked.

"I have elf blood. Elves have an unbreakable connection to the forest, to the point where we're called the race of the fore-"

Naruto looked at Emilia who was about to collapse, before he swooped in and caught her. She looked to be in anguish, her breathing shallow. "Emilia? What happened, Emilia!?" He asked.

The half-elf couldn't reply. Her breaths were shallow and erratic but she had no fever and wasn't sweating. He immediately ran to the front of the carriage and jammed his head through the window connecting to the driver, perhaps Rem could help her.

However, the blue oni pulled the leash of the earth dragon making the carriage stopped suddenly, almost making Naruto fly without his cloak.

"I'm sorry, Naruto-kun. There's a person who's blocking our way." She said with a light glare.

"Comin' so boldy face-to-face, pretty brave'f ya, outsider."

A young man spoke to them with a strong tone. After hearing that, Naruto got out of the carriage and saw a person's figure standing in front of them blocking their way. The person was slightly taller than Ram.

He had short, spiky blond hair, with a conspicuous white scar on his forehead. He wore a short black-red striped open-vest, and he had black pants.

"Ain't like I care where yer from, but you there with blond spiky hair!" The blond guy pointed his finger at Naruto who just had a clueless expression. "Ya are one interestin' person ya seem strong!"

Naruto was going to say something to him, but he had to block an attack when the guy charged him, blocking his leg from kicking his head. Instead of asking the man why he did it, Naruto's eyes narrowed slightly, he grabbed the man's leg and threw him away from the carriage before he could hurt an unconscious Emilia. He watched him crash into a bunch of trees, but he just got up as fast.

Then, the blond boy did it again as he ran toward him and raised his fist to punch him in his face. The shinobi blocked his attack by grabbing his fist with his hand and twisting it in a submission move as he pinned him down on the ground. This boy seemed very aggressive and had a wild look on his face.

"Don't fight him! He's Garfiel! Frederica's brother!" Rem said.

"What?! Really?" Naruto looked at the blond boy on the ground, Garfiel if Rem was correct. He quickly offered him a hand, but he rejected his help.

Garfiel looked at the familiar blue-haired girl who sat on the carriage. "Ya know my name? Ah, ya must be Ram's sister." He said.

"Indeed I am Ram's sister. We're here for the villagers." Rem said.

"Since ya two are here, that bastard Roswaal told me there was a chick named Emilia, the half-devil…correct?"

"She's a half-elf. Please refrain from calling her a demon." Naruto said calmly, holding his anger. Luckily, he managed to calm himself down.

Garfiel walked toward Naruto and Rem to see them, but he only looked at Naruto. "You threw me after you blocke' my kick. You're ver' strong, but let's get inside first." He grinned.

The two blonds went inside the carriage before Rem continued to ride the earth dragon. They're on their way to the Sanctuary, Garfiel giving them directions. However, Emilia was still asleep or unconscious after passing through the barrier.

Meeting Garfiel wasn't totally unexpected since Frederica warned them of his more than likely arrival, what was a surprise was the fact that Frederica was the sister of this wild man, their personalities clashed with each other.

"I'm guessin' ya know my name, but I didn't catch yours." Garfiel looked at Naruto who sat next to Emilia and she slept on his lap.

"I'm Naruto Uzumaki. Your sister told us about you before meeting you..." He replied, narrowing his eyes at the wild guy. He sensed his mana, and it seemed his race had wild mana by nature.

He noticed Garfiel's fangs very similar to Frederica's, but there was something different about him. Rage. Bloodlust. It seemed that unlike Frederica this man embraced the wild nature of his race, explaining why he attacked first and asked a second. Naruto was interested in how their feelings affected their transformation, if it did...

"So, can you explain why Emilia fell asleep?" Naruto asked.

"She fell asleep because she got close to the barrier. It's true that she is an elf, but she's a mixed blood." Garfiel said. "This Sanctuary is where people with mixed blood live because they can go nowhere else, not for a lack of trying."

"I see… that makes sense. So, I heard Roswaal came to the Sanctuary. You know him, right?"

"You've at least heard my name before, yeah? Kinda I guess, but 's probably 'cause of all the people related to Roswaal, my amazin's self's blatantly the strongest."

"Right…but that wasn't really the point…I didn't ask you that… Anyways, this just gives me a lot to ask Roswaal regarding the Sanctuary, but I heard that we can't leave the barrier."

"That's right! You three can't leave this place unless you do a trial."

"A trial? What is-" Naruto noticed Emilia stirring on his lap. Her eyes fluttered open and she looked around the carriage slowly, still not fully awake, she saw him and gave him a dumb smile.

"Morning, Naruto…" The half-elf said with a slur, wiping a bit of drool absentmindedly.

"Are you okay? Does your head hurt or anything?" He asked.

"Uhh, no? I don't feel anything strange, but…" One could almost see her memories returning to her, she suddenly got up with plenty of energy. "Naruto! I collapsed when I tried to say something! Are you okay?"

"Hey, calm down. We have a new guest, he's Garfiel, Frederica's brother."

The half-elf looked at the blond guy who chuckled at her. "This is… Garfiel?" She asked with narrowed eyes, it seemed she was still half awake.

"M interested in what she said 'bout me, but I'll put that off for later. We're gonna be reachin' the village soon."

* * *

Several minutes later, Naruto and the group finally arrived at the Sanctuary, but Frederica seemed spot on with her description of the place, sadly. The wooden houses were all around in the distance, the place was nothing but a poor village. The group got out of the carriage, exploring with their eyes to see if the villagers were anywhere in sight.

"This place has a strange air to it…" Naruto commented, feeling something wrong in the natural energy. He looked at Rem to see if she knows something about the place. "Rem, have you been here before?"

"No, Naruto-kun. This is my first time here. Before you came in the mansion, Frederica warned me not to go to the Sanctuary." The blue oni replied honestly. "I never thought this place would be this poor."

"Sure is. 'S a depressin' place. Jussayin', the people inside're even more depressin'. Fuckin' everyone got this gloomy look, like they're livin' but they're dead." Garfiel said.

"That doesn't sound like a Sanctuary. So, this is the village created by Echidna, the Witch of Greed, and she created the barrier too… Emilia?" Naruto wondered, looking at the half-elf who looked around and seemed unable to calm down. Her fingers caught on the hem of Naruto's jacket.

This was his first time seeing her face so worried since she entered the Sanctuary. The half-elf clearly didn't feel comfortable in this place, more than likely because this place had a connection to the witches. He couldn't blame her for showing such a reaction. Standing in a place where a witch once stood was bad, worse for Emilia since she was compared to them constantly.

Naruto could relate since he lived in a place where he was compared to Kurama, the one who destroyed his home. Death. Loss. Hate. All those things were dropped on him too, he was supposed to shoulder them, but Emilia didn't have to.

"Are you alright?" He asked.

"It's just kind of like, I can't calm down. What calls me… like I have a weird feeling, or… I don't really know how to describe it." Emilia said as she touched her necklace, seriously uneasy about Puck's absence.

She seemed seconds away from having a panic attack until her hand was grabbed by Naruto's. He seemed so calm in the Sanctuary, it brought her out of her thoughts.

"No matter what happens, just leave it to your knight. He's here for you." Naruto said with a lighthearted smile, trying to help Emilia. It worked as Emilia's hand squeezed his own and she gave him one of her 'angelic smiles'.

The half-elf smiled at her knight, feeling relieved. His presence seemed to have that effect on her "Thank you, my knight." She said as she and Naruto walked together not feeling like letting go of each other.

It didn't take them long to find Roswaal and Ram in a shack, it seemed like Ram was acting like a guard since she just stood outside it. Rem was relieved to see her sister was safe. Both of them hugged each other, not used to being apart so long. Ram welcomed Emilia and Naruto, and informed them that Roswaal was waiting for them, so they followed her to the back of the building. While walking they were informing her of their adventures since she was in here.

Ram was surprised at Naruto for killing the leader of the witch cult and the Hakugei. It was hard to believe him, but Emilia and Rem told her it was true. What they didn't discuss was their new distrust for Roswaal, they thought Ram wouldn't take kindly to that, no matter how nice she was.

"Helloooo~ Emilia-sama, Naruto-kun, and Reeeem~. It feels as though it's been quite some tiiiime~ since we've last seen each other, hmm?" Roswaal greeted in a polite manner.

Naruto clenched his fist in anger when he sees him, but managed to cool down his anger. It seemed like he couldn't have a serious talk with him yet because he was lying on a bed covered in bloodstained bandages that wrapped around him.

"It's been a while, but what happened to you? Who did this to you?" He asked.

"Oh my, don't worry about my injuries. I call them wounds of honoooor~, although such a name would have a strong implication of being unavoidable by my dignity, or that's how I would like to answer." Roswaal said.

"You don't seem to blame someone." Naruto said, getting a more serious look at his injuries. Those injuries didn't seem like someone inflicted them. "Frederica told me about this place. We can't leave the place because of the barrier."

"Frederica is here, too?" Ram was shocked. "Where is she?"

"She stayed behind in the mansion to watch over it and keep Beatrice company. She told me that the Sanctuary was created by the Witch of Greed, and that she also put up the barrier." The blond shinobi said. He noticed his hand was squeezed by Emilia's when he said the word "witch". "I thought you knew how to break the barrier, but something tells me you got those injuries because you don't."

Roswaal looked at his serious azure eyes. It was surprising Frederica trusted Naruto with information about the Sanctuary.

"I can see why Frederica trusted you with these secrets." He said. "My wounds are the result of the trial rejecting me."

"A trial?" Emilia asked.

"Yes. The trial is the last piece of information you will need though." Roswaal said with serious eyes, he wasn't singing so the information he was about to reveal was bound to be important. "Listen carefully. To free this Sanctuary and let everyone go, one has to challenge the trial, and be recognized by it."

"Then, that's how you got this." Naruto said as the clown nodded to him. "If anyone challenges it, their body will be injured."

Roswaal wasn't kidding about the trial, his injuries revealed so much. He had to respect Roswaal's determination, he tried to help the people by completing the trial but got this for failing. That or he himself wanted to go out, but he hoped Roswaal had the people in mind when he tried to break the barrier. It had to be very hard for Ram taking care of Roswaal's terrible wounds, some of them seemed life-threatening.

"Now let me get straight T' issuin' ya our demands." Garfiel said, pointing his finger at Emilia. "Lift the barrier surrounding this sanctuary. To do that, you have to take the trial. 'Til that's done, no one leaves here. Not like ya could just leave yourself in the first place though!"

"Hold on. Why does she have to go?" Naruto wondered, sounding protective and a little afraid.

"You must understand this, Naruto-kun." Roswaal said. "The only one who will take the trial is going to be Emilia-sama. Not only can you get injured, but there's a chance you will be imprisoned by the witch, forever."

Hearing the truth in his word Naruto could only grumble, he didn't like how the Trial worked for him. Telling Emilia to take a Trial in the tomb because she's a half-elf was a bit ridiculous. He started to get worried until a slender hand grabbed his arm.

"It's okay, Naruto. I can go and do the Trial. I don't want anyone to get hurt or trapped in the tomb forever." She said bravely.

"I… okay, Emilia." Naruto said, with a defeated sigh.

* * *

It had been around 15 minutes after they left Roswaal's improvised shack. Garfield guided Naruto, Emilia, and Rem to the tomb, the place where Roswaal took the trial and faced death to help the villagers, or so they hoped. The tomb was ruined due to time having some shallow cracks along the walls and dense thickets of ivy growing over it. It had to be hundreds of years old.

The entrance faced toward the forest, but half of the structure itself was swallowed by the forest so it was hard to gauge how large the tomb really was.

Naruto sensed the mana inside the tomb and felt something bad in the air.

When he started to absorb the natural energy something unexpected came with it, a voice, dangerous but seductive. Nobody heard the voice but him, and that worried him.

"This is the Witch of Greed's tomb." Rem said, sensing the mana inside there, it scared her slightly. Her body was shivering until Naruto took her hand in concern. Swallowing, she continued. "…This tomb is far worse than I thought. I…I never felt so scared of…"

"So only people who're qualified can enter the tomb, and if those qualified people don't pass the trial, they can't leave the Sanctuary, right?" Naruto asked, looking at Garfiel who just nodded with an unsure expression. "That's why Emilia has to go in the tomb, because she's a half-elf, correct?"

"That's right. The half-elf Emilia is qualified. Pure-blooded human Naruto ain't. So yer not free to come in n' out as ya want. It means you can't take the trial without ending like Roswaal." He said.

"I see…" The blond shinobi said, entering the mindscape as he looked at the Bijuus who agreed with him in what he was about to do. He let go of Rem's hand and patted her head with a smile.

The blue oni blinked in seconds at him, but she nodded to him already having a clue as to what he was about to do. There was no way she could stop him, his strength was far superior to her own. She smiled at him, wishing him good luck.

Before Naruto could go in, a hand took his and grasped it. She saw through his lie at the shack, there was no way someone so determined was going to just accept her going in knowing she could get injured. Emilia heard Roswaal's warnings and she didn't want her friend to get trapped there. She refused to see him get trapped there for all eternity.

"Please stay…" She said, keeping a hold of his hand to prevent him from going in. "Y-You heard what Roswaal told us…"

"Don't worry about me. You know I'm someone who never goes back on my word, and I promise you as your friend, and as your knight, that I _will_ come back to you."

"Hey, hey, did ya hear what I just said? It dangerous t' go in without qualifications. Roswaal turned out like that 'since it was night, but that doesn't make it safe just 'cuz it's afternoon." Garfiel said, crossing his arms.

Emilia gripped Naruto's hand in a vain effort to keep him there. But with ease, he unhooked her hand and leaned in forward to kiss her forehead.

"You worry too much about me. You know I will come back to you, Emilia." Naruto said with a gentle smile, seeing the half-elf acquire a pink color in her cheeks.

"Promise?"

"Promise."

Then, Naruto and Emilia held each other in an embrace filled with confidence and concern. They smiled at each other before Naruto walked toward the tomb. He glanced back one last time to see Emilia and Rem smiling at him and wishing good luck.

When he entered the tomb, the floor beneath him went out of existence, the walls disappeared too. He now stood on an invisible floor, undeterred he started to walk to find what the trial was.

Naruto couldn't sense any mana in this place, and it didn't seem like there was something to see or a trial to take anywhere. Suddenly the invisible floor changed to healthy green grass. The whole place he was in changed into some kind of field of green grass, swaying in the wind. Looking up he saw a beautiful blue sky.

He found a beautiful girl with long snow-white hair and perfect skin. Her eyes were black not unlike her dress. She wore a black butterfly hairpin.

"Oh? Hello there." She said, looking at Naruto.

The blond shinobi began to walk toward her to meet her. "Who are you?"

"My name is Echidna, the Witch of Greed."


	13. Chapter 13

**This chapter has been edit by the same editor, XPartan Caos. All the credits to the editor for grammar, editing, and spelling. **

**Sorry taking so long because the editor has been sick and I already sent Chapter 13 to him, but he's better now and finished to edit this chapter. I repeat, all the credits to ****editor for grammar, editing, and spelling.**

* * *

"So…your name's Echidna…" Naruto said, narrowing his eyes at the white-haired girl, feeling suspicious. He was feeling a bit unsure that this is Echidna, she looked nothing like a witch, though he looked nothing like a trained assassin, and she looked very much alive.

Another reason why it was hard to believe that's her was that… she couldn't be that young! That reminded him of Beatrice's apparent age, seeing as she looked around 12 and was actually around 400 years old. Now this woman right here, sitting on a chair with a teacup was introducing herself as the Witch of Greed, someone not only far older but far more like _dead_.

"What's up with that reaction? I am a very delicate woman you know!" She said, an edge of annoyance in her voice.

"Are you… really… Echidna?" Naruto asked slowly, pointing his finger at her. "Did I meet the wrong person? Perhaps I walked in the wrong place. I mean, surely the name Echidna can't be that uncommon."

Echidna's jaw dropped in shock at his unsure reaction. "Wh-What?! Hold up! I just told you, I am Echidna! The Witch of Greed!" She said as she pointed her finger at herself, but she seemed ready to explode when she saw the human just turn around and began walking away.

"Sorry lady, but it seems I'm in the wrong place… Perhaps you can help me find-"

"I'm right here, you idiot! Echidna is me!... Can you just take a seat here and have some tea." She said breathing like a berserker. She calmed herself as she crossed her arms and gave him pout for turning away. Could this guy seriously not know who she really was?

Naruto turned to the girl who was trying to convince him that she was the Witch of Greed. He detected no lies from her, and she's convinced she's a witch. He was going to entertain her, if she was telling the truth she created the Sanctuary and the barrier, and maybe she could tell him how to destroy the barrier.

"Alright, alright. You're Echidna. My name is Naruto Uzumaki." The blond shinobi said as he walked and took a seat. He noticed Echidna's pointing at the teacup, no doubt for him to drink. "Sorry, I don't drink tea. I only drink water or juice."

"Tea is the only thing I have here… Gosh, why don't you like tea, young human?"

"I heard if you drink too much tea, you can't grow taller."

"Eh?! That's not true. Tea is good for old people… Well, I'm a young adult, but believe me. I can drink this tea and there's a good chance I can grow taller!"

Guess Naruto had no choice but to drink tea with her. Besides, this is his first time drinking tea, he was curious about the taste, the fact that a witch had made it for him made it all the more peculiar. However, he noticed this tea had something weird, it could probably taste bad, but since when was he known to be careful.

He took a deep breath before drinking his first tea. His eyes gazed at Echidna who had a surprised expression. Naruto set his empty teacup on the table and looked at her.

"Wow, you actually drank all of it, even though it was something a witch offered." Echidna said.

"Then, what is this tea made out of? Why did you offer me to drink the tea in the first place?" Naruto's voice became serious like he knew something. His body felt weird after he drank the tea but managed to stand against it.

"You have sharp eyes, Naruto." The witch said in surprise. "It was my body fluids, but I'm going to tell you more since you interested me. I applied treatment so that it'll be easier for you to familiarize yourself with the Witch Factor sleeping inside you." Instead of the green face she expected him to have, she saw no change in his expression, it was clear she never visited mountain Myoboku.

"Witch Factor…?" Naruto wondered, having heard the same word from Beatrice after he told her he killed Petelgeuse.

_"I… I'll tell you a bit. More importantly, if you are the one who killed Sloth, what happened to the Witch Factor-kashira."_

Was she talking about the same Witch Factor? Naruto didn't know if it was because she didn't tell him and he didn't ask her. However, Echidna seemed just about to explain it to him.

"I'm impressed you killed an adherent of the Witch of Envy. When that adherent died, the Witch Factor transferred to you. Though, it seems there's something else inside you as well." Echidna said as she set her teacup down on the table and traced her finger along its edge. Her gaze locked on Naruto, black eyes met azure.

This boy is just a human, but his mana is powerful and definitely something inside him was as well. Unlike the other humans, he looked alien, like he wasn't from here or maybe not from this world, his smell was definitely something that she found out of the norm.

_"Is she talking about the Bijuus or the witch scent…?"_ Naruto thought.

"Let's talk about that later. Don't you have things you want to say, to ask?" Echidna asked.

"Yeah, I do. So I entered a tomb only to end up here, what happened to my body? I know I didn't teleport."

"You're correct. Your mind's inside my castle. This place is a dream."

So his real body was most likely knocked out in the tomb, left it there at the mercy of wild animals. "Then, can you tell me about the Trial? So that I can help my friend break down the barrier you created that traps the demi-humans and humans in the Sanctuary." He said

"Sorry for telling you this, but I don't know about the Trial. I haven't participated in it."

"Stop lying to me, Echidna. I know someone who already took the Trial."

Echidna looked at the human's sharp eyes, he had the nerve to tell her she's lying. No human has ever done that before. "I'd love to tell you, but I'm not allowed to speak about the Trial. You must pass the Trial first, and then I can tell you." She said

"Ok then... Can you tell me about the six witches?" He asked.

"Very well. Allow me to tell you about them." Echidna grinned before she did something to their surroundings.

The atmosphere of blue skies and green fields instantly started collapsing. The sky shattered, the fields caught flames, the world beyond the horizon progressively collapsed. Naruto saw the table shatter like glass except for the two chairs that they sat on. The whole place became a dark void.

"So, what would you like to know? Is it about the Witch of Gluttony Daphne, who created godforsaken beasts to save the world from hunger? About the Witch of Lust Camilia, who sought to fill the world with love and gave emotion to those without others? About the Witch of Wraith Minerva, who punched all people into health while lamenting the strife-filled world-"

"Wait, what? Witch of Wraith Minerva, who punched all people into health?" Naruto asked, blinking his eyes in confusion.

"Yeah… Some people are confused about her ability, so you're not the only one." Echidna said, continuing to tell him about the witches. "Anyways where was I...? Got it! Is it about the Witch of Sloth Sekhmet, who drove the Dragon beyond the Great Cascades just for some peace and quiet? About the Witch of Pride Typhon, who brought judgment upon criminals with the innocence and ruthlessness of a child?"

Naruto shook his head, not wanting to know about them. Though, he stored all the information about the witches in his head, just in case.

"Is it about the Witch of Greed Echidna, thirst for knowledge incarnate, whose vestiges even now linger posthumously in this world, desiring all wisdom there is? Or is it about the Witch of Envy Satella, the one who destroyed all of the other witches, and the one who turned the entire world into her enemy?"

Naruto's eyes turned serious and sharp fast when he heard about the Witch of Envy. His chakra flared up in response to his raging emotions. He had a lot of questions about Satella.

"Why the serious face? I guess I overdid it, but this is my first time seeing you look like that." Echidna admitted truthfully with a raised eyebrow.

"I have a lot of questions about the Witch of Envy." Naruto breathed slowly, preparing himself to use his power to deflect what was more than likely going to try to kill him. "What do you know about... 'Return by Death'?" He tensed his muscles in preparation for what was about to happen.

...Nothing happened… that was weird. The last time he and the Bijuu gave a name to the strange power that brought him back to life the last time, they had to fight back a lot of shadowy arms that invaded his mind and tried to squeeze his heart. Thankfully he wasn't alone and all of them fought the annoying things till none remained.

"Return by Death? Sounds unfamiliar, but I think I've heard it before." Echidna said with a thoughtful look as she put her finger on her lip. She was so sure she heard it before, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.

The witch didn't seem to recognize that ability, but he hoped she could give him information.

"I might know that ability, but can you describe it? What does it like?" She inquired.

"Whenever I say 'Return by Death', suddenly shadow hand grabs my heart and squeeze it. I noticed they're Unseen Hand, just like Petelgeuse's ability." Naruto said.

"Satella."

"What?"

"I've never heard about Return by Death, but Unseen Hand belongs to Satella. If I'm correct about what you saw, you're the only one who can detect the Unseen Hand. Nobody can see them, but somehow you can."

Her words made sense to him since he had sensed and seen Petelgeause's shock at him not only seeing them but destroying them as well. Naruto knew he could see the Unseen Hands but he was unaware others couldn't. He fought Petelgeuse alone and in sage mode since the very beginning, so he saw them without difficulty. But that brought another question, did this world had sensors? Even if they couldn't see them, they surely could sense them, right?

On another note, he wasn't surprised that the Unseen Hand belonged to Satella, considering one of her devoted followers had them. But if what he sensed was right then the witch of Envy gave him 'Return by Death', seeing that the Unseen Hand had a similar feeling, Satella's power more than likely. But, why did she give him that ability?

_"That voice…could it be?"_ Naruto thought as he looked at Echidna. "Can you tell me more about Satella?"

"400 years ago, Satella absorbed Envy Witch Factor, but things went very wrong. Her magic went out of control and she killed the other Six Witches of Sin while nearly destroying the world." She said.

"Out of control? Was it because her magic took over her and made her kill the other six witches?" Naruto asked.

"You're correct. I'm surprised, you didn't seem all that intelligent when you didn't recognize me. Satella and the Witch of Envy are separate personalities."

"I see…" Naruto said softly as his fists opened slowly, he was absorbing the new information with an open mind, he finally found what he was missing, something "underneath the underneath" that told him that things weren't as transparent as they seemed. "So, can you let me meet the witches?"

"Yes, I was planning to let you meet them anyway." Echidna said. "Good luck meeting them and have fun!"

* * *

"So…who are you?" Naruto asked, looking at a little girl with green short hair. He was surprised, he was expecting a lot of things regarding the witches, he wasn't expecting them to be pretty girls, especially one so young. How could this little thing represent a Sin?

She has red cheeks, tan skin, and wears a white and blue one-piece dress. She also has a blue flower hairpin. She stared at Naruto as if looking at an alien.

"Typhone, the Witch of Pride." She introduced herself as she pointed her finger at him. "Who are you?"

"My name's Naruto Uzumaki. Echidna told me about you, she sent me here to meet you." He said with an outstretched hand in greeting.

"Ehhh. So… you're Naru." Typhone said as she smiled happily at Naruto, she gave him a short name too, things seemed to be going well. "Naru, are you a baddie?"

Naruto blinked his eyes in confusion at her question, he finally shook his head. "I'm not a baddie." He said.

Typhone walked toward him and tilted her head at him. She grabbed Naruto's outstretched hand. Feeling how soft it was, she was surprised his hand was so soft and warm. He didn't seem to be a baddie, but just to be sure.

"Huh?" Naruto heard her whispering but didn't hear what she was saying. He was going to ask her, but suddenly felt a light shock. He felt a pull so he curiously saw his outstretched arm… no he didn't, he couldn't see what wasn't there… his arm wasn't where it was supposed to be. Why?

He looked at Typhone who held his arm, looking at him intently. He blinked for several seconds before he screamed like a little girl… His reaction was priceless and quite ridiculous.

"It doesn't hurt so you're not a baddie. You're a good person." The Witch of Pride said with a smile, noticing Naruto running around while screaming in shock. "Stop yelling! It'll fall if you move too much! And if you do, you won't get it back."

Naruto realized he felt no pain and his wound wasn't bleeding. With a deep breath he calmed himself, it was a dream, he remembered, though looking at the stump that was his arm he could say it was scary to see his bone and pink muscle, even if it was a dream. "So… can I have my arm back?" He asked, approaching her, but suddenly his body lost balance and he fell forward into the little girl's lap.

The blond quickly looked at his legs and his right one was suddenly gone. He sighed and facepalmed. He noticed Typhone stroking his hair. She smiled lightly at him with a small giggle that sounded so very pure, he couldn't just stay mad at the little witch, even if she was responsible for him losing his leg and arm.

"Haha. Very funny."

"You're a kind person. Your hair is so soft." She said. "...I guess it's time for you to meet someone."

Naruto was going to ask her who but suddenly the place changed. Typhone, who was with him a second ago, was no longer here, but he found another woman in her place. His azure eyes meet the magenta eyes. She looked a little older than his and Echidna's age. Was it just him or her expression looked tired?

Her magenta hair was extremely long. Her skin and lips seemed abnormally pale. She wore a dirty and frayed clerical robe.

"Huu, looks like I'm up next. *Sigh*. I guess I have no choice but to do it." The pretty woman said with a lazy look as she began to stroke his hair. "*Sigh* You're pretty heavy but your hair is very soft. *Sigh* You're quite lucky. Being sent by Echidna, then to Typhon and now me… Having face-to-face meetings with three witches in turn, that's something only a handful could say, that moron Flugel or Reid, swisher of sticks."

"Sorry, who… never mind them. Are you a witch?" Naruto asked.

"*Sigh* I'm Sekhmet. Hmm, It's really a chore but I guess you could call me, or not call me, the Witch of Sloth. *Sigh* Not that I'm asking to be called at all, it's really all a bother. Huu, chatting makes my restless, so can you stay quiet?" Sekhmet asked as she continued to stroke Naruto's hair. "However, I have to admit your hair is soft."

"Naruto Uzumaki. It's nice to meet you, Sekhmet." Naruto said, staring at her familiar expression. She reminded him of someone. "You know. You kinda remind me of my friend."

The magenta-haired woman raised her eyes lightly at him. "I remind you of your friend?" She asked curiously as the blond nodded to her.

"Well…he's lazy and sleepyhead who always says "What a drag." Just like that when someone tells him what to do." Naruto imitated the voice of his friend, causing the woman to giggle softly. "Anyways, can you help me get my arm and my leg back?"

"Huu, nothing I can do… ahh, actually this works fine. This was a pain for me too, huu, so I'll just leave the rest to her and go to sleep. Haa, breathing's such a damn chore." Sekhmet said as she looked at him. "Hopefully the next time, we will meet again."

"Wait a minute… Are you talking about Minerva?" Naruto wondered, starting to sweat a little after he learned about Minerva's witch magic. "Uhh… I think I might pass this one-"

It was too late when he saw a different person and Sekhmet no longer with him. He found a pretty blonde girl with blue eyes. She wore white and blue clothes that are easy to move around in.

Looking at her, she seemed to be his age. The blonde girl didn't look bad at all, but…why is she looking at him with some anger?

"Right arm missing. Left leg missing. No bleeding or pain… you got punished by Typhon! That girl… she went off doing whatever she likes again, she's just awful!" She yelled as her eyes clouded over with fury. Her whole speech filled with anger, her attitude explosive, her actions were filled with violent passion, tears welled up in her eyes. Yeah, it was pretty easy to guess which Sin she was.

Naruto's body was shaking with fear at her attitude. He was having flashbacks of the other healers he knew and their anger. "A-Are you mad?" He asked out of reflex, thankfully he didn't call her Granny or the story could've ended very differently.

"I'm really mad! That Typhon, making these wounds and just leaving them there! And at this world that lets her do these awful things! And at people fighting and hurting each other and making each other suffer, the craziness of it all!" Ok, now she was rambling, another trait he was beginning to associate with healers.

Now, Naruto started to get really scared of her. "S-So…you must be Minerva… the woman who can h-heal people by punching-" He screamed loudly as Minerva tossed him up into the air very high and he landed in her arms.

"I won't forgive it! Not pain! Not fighting! Not wounds! As if I could leave it like this!" She yelled, her shining eyes stared at Naruto as she tossed him in the air and began to make a strange pose with her body, no doubt about to punch him.

"Oh no! Oh no-GAH"

* * *

"Now then. How did it-what happen to you?" Echidna wondered, looking at Naruto who seemed to be defeated after meeting the three witches.

The blond raised his head to look at Echidna. "Things are great, but…Minerva… Does she always do that to people?" He asked, his tone one of acceptance.

"Yes, that girl's just a little too quick to put her dukes. You have to get used to her and her healing magic." She said as she drank the tea. "I'm happy you enjoyed meeting the three witches."

"How come I met only three? Can't you just let me meet five of them?" Naruto asked.

Echinda's brows furrowed, feeling troubled. Her gaze wandered around for a while, eventually coming to look at Naruto. "Well, you can meet Carmilla tomorrow, but Daphne… I really think you better not meet her." She said.

"Why not?"

"Well, you and Daphne would have a terrible affinity. Or you could even call it horrid. Even if you met her, a useful conversation wouldn't take place… You see… Can you not meet her, ever? I can only let you meet Carmilia tomorrow."

"What's wrong with meeting Daphne?"

"I can tell you that later. Just not today." Echidna said.

Naruto blinked his eyes at the witch wanting to argue, but he just nodded and listened to her reasons. Well, he met three witches: Typhon, Sekhmet, and Minerva, so that was cool. But, he didn't meet the other two witches, Carmilia and Daphne. Tomorrow, Naruto would meet Carmilia.

However, Naruto doesn't know why Daphne was a bad match for him, but he had no control of this realm, it was Echidna's, he was grateful she allowed him to meet the witches, even if they weren't all.

"Echidna-" The blond paused as Echidna got closer to him. He felt a fingertip touch his forehead, and something transferred inside him.

"I'm giving you the qualifications to take the tomb's Trial."

"The qualifications? Does that mean-"

"If you have this, you'll be able to take the Trial at night. Whether or not you take the Trial's up to you. But, now you have the option to take the Trial instead of that important girl of yours. Do whatever you like."

"No, that's it. It was nice to meet you, Echidna, you and the other witches." Naruto said, walking toward the door created by Echidna.

* * *

The first thing Naruto felt when he woke up was the touch of someone's fingertips stroking his scalp. He didn't have a headband on his forehead, its familiar weight no longer present. His eyes opened, but a slender hand blocked his view of the world. He caught a glimpse of Emilia's beautiful face, looking worried at him.

"Emilia… Where am I?" He asked, his eyes scanning his surroundings, he noticed the walls were quite old. It seemed like he's out of the dream world and out of the tomb.

"In the house on your bed, Naruto." Emilia said, continuing to stroke his head in a soothing manner.

Naruto nodded as he attempted to get out of the bed but his memories held him back. He put his hand on his forehead and remembered meeting Echidna inside her dream, and the headache that had been meeting the other witches. She told him she gave him the qualifications to take the tomb's Trial, so he could help Emilia now, so he guessed that the mission was successful, in a sense.

Emilia pushed him down with a little force and he just plopped on her lap without offering resistance, she was worried about him, and him stopping out of nowhere could've made her think he had some sort of headache. "You mustn't get up! You haven't slept as much as you should, so just stay in your bed." She said, gently pushing Naruto's chest with her hands to stop him from leaving the bed.

The blond sighed in defeat, but he couldn't say no to the half-elf. He just lied down on the bed for her, noticing her hands still touching his chest, this made him look at her. Naruto saw her face turn red as she realized her hand still on his chest and pulled them away slowly. He didn't have his armor plate because she took it off so he could sleep better.

Emilia was embarrassed about her actions, but she still tried to not let him go. She was worried, really worried after she found him unconscious in the tomb.

"So, what happened to me? Was I…?" Naruto knew what happened to him when he entered the tomb but what happened after was a mystery to him.

"You suddenly fainted right after you went in. I was really worried…" Emilia said. "I really didn't know what to do. It didn't look like you'd been injured, or affected by any kind of strange magic… Naruto, did something happen to you?"

"I'm fine. I met Echidna in her dream mentally, which explains why you saw my body unconscious in the tomb, since it had no mind to control it."

"You met the Witch of Greed in her dream?"

"Yes, I met her and talked with her. She doesn't seem to be that dangerous to me, but I would prefer it if you didn't meet her."

Emilia is a half-elf so he wasn't so sure if she would be so civil with her like she was with him since a half-elf killed her and the other witches. Worst case scenario, Satella attempts to murder Emilia immediately. He had to be relieved at the fact that he now had the qualifications to take the trial.

"Emilia, I want you to know that I got the qualifications to take the tomb's Trial, Echidna gave them to me."

"R-Really? How she gave them to you?"

"I don't know how, but let's not worry about that. If you're uncomfortable taking the Trial, I can go inside and do it for you." Naruto said, not wanting to reveal the fact that he drank Echidnas fluids, something told him that wasn't going to go well for him.

"B-But Naruto, I thought the tomb's Trial only lets a half-elf or half-human take the Trial-"

"I am dead serious, Emilia. And you know me, I never-"

Emilia interrupted him by grabbing his hand with hers as she looked into his eyes. "What if you fail the Trial? I don't want you to get hurt like Roswaal or trap inside there forever... You did so much for me already, and I want to do something for you. Please, let me take the Trial..." She said as she grasped his hand.

Naruto did so much for her because he cares about her, and she never had a chance to repay him. However, it didn't seem like he wanted any kind of repayment for his actions, only doing them because he thought that those were the right thing to do.

It wasn't very fair for her not to help Naruto, even if he was powerful, he was just a human, and he would surely feel good if compensated for his efforts. She wanted to do this, for him.

"Emilia…" Naruto said softly, didn't know how to respond to her, so he just smiled and nodded his head. She really wanted to help him, who was he to stop her surge of determination. "Okay, Emilia."

After Emilia received a yes from him, she released a beautiful smile to him, glad to know that he trusted her with the Trial. "Thank you, Naruto. I won't let you down." She said as she still held his hand with rosy cheeks. This time, she's going to confess her feelings to him again just like the other day, she made sure no one was going to interrupt them this time.

She took a deep breath to calm her heart and her mind, she had been waiting for this moment for a little while now. So with nothing else to lose she just took a leap of faith trusting her melting heart and ignoring her mind feeling her head with insecurities.

"Naruto I want to say something to you."

"Yes, what is it?"

"I… I'm in love with you."

Naruto looked at her with surprised eyes, not believing what she was saying. "Wh…What did you say?" He asked.

"I love you, Naruto." She repeated, hoping she was letting her emotions show on her eyes, just like in the books. "W-When I first met you, I was afraid that you would run away from me because I revealed to you I am half-elf. But, you became my first friend without so much as a second thought. I-I'm saying that you're not scared of me, and I really liked that about you. Not that you don't have any more qualities I like, it's just-"

Naruto was speechless, his jaw was slightly opened, his eyes wide. He couldn't believe Emilia confessed her feelings to him. Poor thing was spitting out whatever came to her head, and her face was beginning to imitate a tomato, not that he was any better right now.

Finally, Emilia calmed down enough to speak properly, placing her hands above her heart and taking another deep breath.

"N-Naruto, I love you because you gave me a chance and… you saved me from my loneliness. I-I hope I'm doing it right…" The half-elf said, looking away from his face with a nervous chuckle trying to hide her teary face. "You understood my feelings and helped me fight through the hardships. Then, I-I started to realize that your feelings were just like mine. Both of us were hurt, scared, we felt weak. I…I like the way you hold me… We ate together, studied together and a lot more things I didn't even know could be enjoyed like you taught me to… I-I know this is selfish…for me to ask you this… But c-can you stay here in this world? I want you to stay with me, I want to continue to…continue to live my life with you."

She closed her eyes, preparing herself for the worst, some tears ran down her face when she thought of the possibility and her hand squeezed his in an effort to comfort herself.

Why hadn't she thought about this before?! This would change everything between them, how they talked, how they interacted! And if he said no? Could she take that? She didn't know-

"...Yes, Emilia."

Those words washed over her like a bucket filled with nothing but relief.

She looked to him with a smile on her face. "R-Really?" She asked feeling unsure.

"Yes, Emilia. I accept your feelings, and I will stay by your side until the end." He said softly taking a knee in front of Emilia, noticing her sparkling smile and watery eyes. He took her hands in his and thought about what to say next. "Do you remember the reward you offered me?"

"I remember."

"Well, I finally know what my reward is going to be. I want you, Emilia, to visit my world with me if I ever find a way to go back."

Emilia widened her eyes with shock, covering her mouth with her hands, feeling extremely happy that Naruto wanted to present her to the people he thought of as a family. "A-Are you sure? I-I'm a half-elf-" She said, her insecurities coming back with full force.

"I'm sure my friends would love to meet you." Naruto said as he held her cheek with his hand and used his thumb to clean her tears. "You don't need to be afraid of them. Trust me, Emilia. They're good people and I'm sure you'll like my home."

"I'm happy. I'm so happy." Emilia said with a smile as she cupped his hand. "I…I never had someone who wanted me to visit their home. What should I do? If I visit your world, what should I do?"

"Well, you can do anything you want. Just be happy and enjoy yourself, Emilia. You deserve to be happy. And don't worry so much, not even I know if this is possible."

"Thank you, Naruto! Thank you." She jumped to hug him, wrapping her arms around his neck, causing Naruto to land on his butt. Her voice was full of happiness, she couldn't help but hug him after she heard such a sweet offer from him.

She couldn't help but hold him tight, her life had never been as happy as it is now, all thanks to one man. She now had friends in the people of Irlam Village, she was trying to make a difference for the better in her own world as the King of the Lugnica Kingdom and she was now in a relationship with her perfect knight. She was sure that many things awaited them in the future but she felt that she could conquer it with him by her side.

Naruto couldn't help but hug her back, her happiness was certainly infectious. If his fears were true, then that meant going back to his homeworld was nothing but wishful thinking, but since when was he stopped just because of that.

"Emilia-sama. Is Naruto-kun awake?"

Their moment was interrupted by Rem's voice coming from the other side of the door. This brought them out of their thoughts and their elated emotions, making them realize the position they were in at the moment. Emilia was straddling Naruto's lap and he was holding her waist with both his arms, this made them blush automatically and they quickly separated, leaving them in awkward silence, neither of them having experience with this kind of situations.

Standing up, Naruto coughed a little to ease the tension in the room and approached an embarrassed Emilia burying her face in her hands, her pointed ears glowing red.

"Emilia, Rem needs us." He offered the half-elf a hand, hoping she would snap out of her embarrassment before they kept Rem waiting more. Emilia took a second, seeing the offered hand though a crack she made with her fingers, and finally took his hand in hers, looking anywhere but him.

"L-Lets go." This time it was Emilia who spoke, leading him to the doors quickly to distract herself from her embarrassed state, breathing slowly to stop her face from glowing red. Through all this, her hand never left his.

Naruto and Emilia got out of the room to see Rem with and an unknown kid.

"Naruto-kun, Emilia-sama I want you to meet Lewes." She said.

Lewes is a little girl with long, wavy pink hair, she was looking at them with a calculating gaze, betraying an intelligence above that of a normal child. She seemed as old as Petra, who was around 11 or 12. She wore a white robe with dangling sleeves, her hands barely visible.

"I am Lewes Meyer. I'm the representative of this Sanctuary, more or less." Lewes said as she scratched her forehead with barely visible fingers. "I apologize for interrupting you two, but are you boy who went in the tomb?" She looked at Naruto.

"Name's Naruto Uzumaki. Yes, I went into the tomb."

Lewes's eyes scanned his body, seeing he was a human, but with a presence that made her think otherwise, that and he held himself like a trained warrior, muscles ready to strike but seemingly relaxed.

"Oh yes, Naruto-kun. Roswaal wants to speak with you." Rem said, noticing him growing uncomfortable with the little girl ogling his body as if looking for something.

"...Ok." Naruto said as he looked at Emilia who held his hand with hers, she was now looking at him concerned. With the recent events all playing so fast he totally forgot about his animosity towards Roswaal and what Emilia though of the whole thing. "It's ok, Emilia. I'll just talk with him." He tried to reassure her, but she still seemed hesitant.

The half-elf got a gentle kiss on her knuckles from Naruto to ease her worries. "...Ok, Naruto." She said smiling, blushing slightly at the foreign, but not unwelcomed, action. She let go of his hand and watched him start walking away before he stopped briefly to say a last 'Nice to meet you' to the representative of the Sanctuary before continuing his path.

* * *

"The Hakugei has fallen and the Cardinal of Sin targeting the village has been repelled. Congratulations for become Emilia's knight, by the way." Roswaal said with eyes closed, still in bed and rubbing his chin. Roswaal called him to ask him the things that have transpired while he was gone, and Naruto saw no harm in doing so. "First, allow me to convey you my gratitude. I thank you for protecting my land and people. And, being her first knight, I cannot thank you enough for the great service you have devoted to Emilia-sama."

Roswaal expected at least a half-hearted 'Thank you' from the blond, what he didn't expect was silence. Intrigued he opened his eyes to look at the blond but was met with an unamused expression from the blond, one could even call it spiteful, or even hateful.

"...You don't seem happy to see me. May I ask you why?" Roswaal asked.

"You know why I'm here. You left us even though you knew of the possible danger, why?" Naruto said keeping his emotions in check.

"I've been in confinement here, so it isn't as though I left the mansion unattended for a few days on…"

"Then, you got injured like that by challenging the Trial to free the Irlam villagers you put here in the first place. Me, Emilia, Rem, and the others took care of the Witch Cult while you were gone. You abandoned your people and left them to their luck. You knew that would happen."

"Arguing with someone who gets angry at logic does pay off. Truly, a good trend."

Naruto didn't get angry at his words and barely looked phased. "Roswaal, you better explain to me why you're in the Sanctuary." He said, his tone getting deeper as he took a step forward. He made a promise to Rem and Emilia, so he wouldn't kill or even injure the already bruised clown, but he wanted answers.

Unfortunately, his action was confused as Ram quickly got in front of him to protect Roswaal.

"Roswaal-sama is burdened with his injuries. Even so, he surely could burn you to noth-"

"Don't interfere, Ram. I won't hurt him." Naruto said harshly as he glared at the pink oni. "I just need answers. I know you're still loyal to him because he saved your life, but I won't hesitate to put both of you down." He understood that, like Rem, Ram had a strong sense of loyalty toward Roswaal for saving them, so her actions were not out of hate but out of loyalty toward the clown, so he didn't hold them against her, since he would do the same in her shoes.

Ram shivered at the very cold glare Naruto was currently using against Roswaal, she stepped aside reluctantly since she knew Naruto would just barrel his way through her without a problem. She knew him to be a man of his word, but he didn't seem to be the kind man she knew him to be right now.

"It's okay, Ram. You heard what Naruto-kun said. He won't hurt me, he just wants to talk." Roswaal said with a smile.

"As you say, Roswaal-sama." She said.

"Glad to know we're on the same page. Now, you promised Emilia that you could melt the ice encasing the Elior Forest if she becomes a King, can you?" Naruto said, crossing his arms as he glared at the clown.

"Oh my. I never thought Emilia would tell you about that. But I can see why she trusted you so much." Roswaal said with a chuckle. "The truth is I can't melt the ice of Elior Forest with my magic, but there is a method that can melt the ice without hurting the people."

"Which is?"

"Dragon's blood. The blood of the Dragon, that grants bountiful harvest upon the land and cures deviant earth. It wouldn't kill the dragon, the only thing needed is a drop of blood. If Emilia-sama becomes King, she'll get a chance to ask the Dragon for its blood."

He was telling the truth, he didn't feel anything that pointed to him lying. It was a bit underwhelming that the only thing needed for such an important task was a single drop of blood from an oversized lizard, but who was he to judge?

Feeling the atmosphere of the room lose some of its tenseness, he decided to sit down on a chair beside Roswaal's bed.

"Any more questions, Naruto-kun?" Roswaal asked.

"Just one… Can you tell me about Emilia's life?"

* * *

"Night comes, the atmosphere sure is spooky around here. It looks creepier than yesterday." Emilia said, holding Naruto's hand as she turned to look at him. "Do you think it's fine to go in yet?"

"It should be fine to go in now." Naruto said, no longer seeing the sun in the sky. "Are you sure you can do it?"

"I'm sure I can do it, Naruto. Believe in me." Emilia said with a smile, raising her pinky finger to him. "I promise I'll fine, I'll return to you. Why? Are you worried about me?" Emilia seemed to have gotten bold all of a sudden when she fluttered eyelashes at him in a mockingly innocent gesture. It seemed her was rubbing a little of his attitude on her, that or she was reading too many books.

The blond's face turned a little red, making her giggle. He held her pinky finger with his, something small children would do if they wanted to seal a deal. Seeing themselves make such a childish "ritual" they laughed at each other.

She smiled at him one more time to assure him she'll be okay before she entered the tomb to take the Trial. "I'm going now." She said as she stepped on the stone stairway and the tombs lights flickered to life all of a sudden.

"The tomb light up." Naruto seemed surprised, perhaps it was something similar to fuinjustsu.

"It's proof that the tomb has recognized Emilia-sama as someone who has the requirements to take the Trial." Lewes said.

Naruto watched Emilia enter the tomb feeling a bit of fear when he thought of the danger she was in if she failed. This though lead him to think about those that once had his back, was this how they felt once? Worried about him, but being unable to stop him because he was such a knucklehead? Now he felt like a dick.

"Naruto, calm down. The tomb has welcomed Emilia-sama into it. You don't need to worry." Lewes said.

"You know what it consists of?"

"I've taken it before. If you're a half-breed and it judges you're qualified, it comes naturally for you. In the end, I wasn't able to beat it."

At that moment, everyone held their breaths when the tomb lost its light source.

"The lights!?" Rem said surprised.

"They're meant to stay on while the Trial's going, but…" Lewes looked kind of lost, even though she should know what's going on.

Without a second thought, Naruto ran toward the tomb, ignoring the others who called his name. When he entered the cemetery lit up for him, he was inside the tomb looking everywhere and trying to sense any magic.

He felt something trying to reach his mind, fortunately, the Tailed Beasts and his own resistance to psychological attacks held strong. He was beginning to grow annoyed since his senses were being affected by the tomb, but sighed in relief when he found a pair of slightly opened doors, leading to what? He didn't care. He goes through big doors to find Emilia lying on the ground, unconscious.

He was relieved to see that she wasn't injured like Roswaal, even though he knew she was able to take the trial safely and the clown wasn't.

Finally growing bored of the thing trying to enter his mind, and knowing that Emilia was in no danger, he relaxed and told the Tailed Beasts to drop their defenses, but to be cautious of any danger. He quickly lost consciousness and fell to the floor next to the half-elf.

"…First, face your past." A voice said in an eery tone.

* * *

_"Th-That's impossible… How did you beat the first Trial so quickly?"_

_"I'm familiar with this test. My past once plagued me but I've long since accepted myself and my story. Your little tricks are nothing to me."_

_"I-I see… That makes sense. You're not like the others... I finally understand why Satella brought you here."_

_"She brought me here? Why?"_

_"Allow me to tell you what Satella brought you here for."_

Naruto opened his eyes, regaining consciousness. He remembered through the haze of his mind that he entered to look for Emilia since the lights went off, then he found her and took the Trial himself. It was nothing to him, really. He had already taken that test, so he also understood how it could be difficult to others.

"Right, I took the Trial." He said. He smiled a little at being reminded of his friends, his family, even though it was just an illusion of his past. It was nice seeing them.

**"Naruto, Emilia is over there." Kurama said, reminding him why he was here in the first place.**

The blond shinobi nodded as he started to get up. He found Emilia collapsed in the back of the room. He to check on her and felt some relief until he noticed her expression. She was mumbling in her sleep with fear and a pained expression, her emotions were a mess.

Her face is twisted in agony, and she was covered in sweat. Her arms and legs are rigid, perhaps to stop her from moving about in her distress. If Emilia's Trial was the same as Naruto's, that means she must have had a dream about her past, but Emilia's past was plagued with suffering, especially the day Roswaal found her.

Naruto didn't know how much time's passed since he fell asleep and when he asked the Tailed Beast. The didn't know either since they fell asleep to concentrate on protecting his mind of any harmful effects of the Trial. But, looking outside to the moon, he guessed it had been about 30 minutes since.

Emilia looked like she wanted to cry. The blond could only look at her in concern, hoping that his thoughts alone could help her, but being unable to do anything since he thought that she was still in her Trial.

But then, Emilia's once rigid limbs begin to flail uncontrollably reaching for something, anything, in her desperation. Her expression got worse and she actually looked like she was suffering. Seeing that leaving her in that state was basically leaving her gets tortured, he embraced her and tried with all his might to interrupt the flow of magic in her mind, to stop the illusion from plaguing her mind any longer.

"Emilia!? Hey, calm down… Emilia!" He had to be careful since Emilia's mind had no chakra pathways, worst case scenario he could fry her mind and leave her braindead, or he could release her and risk her going braindead due to the increasing stress the Trial was forcing on her. The choice was obvious, so with a concentrated burst of chakra Emilia went limp for a few seconds before she began breathing slowly, her heartbeat slowing down as well.

It was after a few more minutes of deadly silence that Emilia finally began to stir in her sleep, slowly opening her eyes.

"Na…Naruto?" She said, sounding exhausted.

"Are you okay?" Naruto asked as she nodded. "Take it slow. Take a deep breath."

Emilia was breathing as deep and as slow as possible, filling her lungs with precious air and helping her mind comprehend what was going on.

He lifted her in a princess carry, not wanting Emilia to stay resting in a brick wall. The half-elf looked around only to find darkness, her mind still rebooting after her Trial.

"In a dark place… alone with Naruto…" Emilia said.

"Just calm down." He was rewarded with silence for a few minutes before Emilia began to shiver.

"...I-I remember… I took the Trial, and…" She gasped as she suddenly hugged herself. "No, no, that, I-I didn't… mean to…"

"Emilia?" Naruto said in concern.

Her voice was shaky, and she couldn't make solid sentences. Her hold on herself tightened, and her teeth began to chatter as if cold, she shook her head, repeating the same sentence "It wasn't me. I didn't do it."

Emilia covered her face with her hands and began to cry. Hearing her sobs filled with pure sorrow broke Naruto's heart. He decided to stop walking to the exit, figuring that Emilia wouldn't want the others to see her like this. He helped her get to her feet and just embraced her when she could stand in her shaky legs, connecting his chakra with her magic as best as he could to bring her as much comfort as possible.

"It's okay. You're okay. I'm with you. I'm here. You're not alone." He said, gently patting her back as she shook and cried. Her face was hidden in his chest, trying to stay as close to his warmth as possible, reminding herself that she wasn't alone.

"D-Don't l-leave me, Naruto… P-Please…don't…" She called desperately.

"I'm not going anywhere. I'm here."

* * *

"She finally calmed down." Ram said to the worried Naruto. He sat on a chair right beside Emilia while she's sleeping on the bed, the poor girl not wanting to move from his side, he guessed that it had to do with his chakra invading her body and soothing her mind.

Ram had no idea which events made Emilia like this but guessed that it had to do with the lights going out suddenly. When both of them came out of the tomb, Naruto was leading a shivering Emilia who looked like she was trying to merge herself with his arm. She looked at Emilia's eyes but when they locked their gazes it was as if she was looking through her, piercing her soul with lost eyes, it scared her.

"Naruto-kun, what did you say about the trial? Facing your past, was it?" Rem asked since Naruto tried to explain to them what had happened but was more focused on reaching the hut they were staying in, as a result, he said a bunch of random things, at least to them they were.

"Correct. The first Trial is about facing your past, your fear, your guilt, and things that make you unable to cope with your past." Naruto explained, now speaking in no hurry. "There are three Trials, but unfortunately, if two people enter the tomb together, it wouldn't let us do the second one."

"That means she'll have to try again." Rem said.

"I'm surprised you passed the first though." Lewes said. "How did you do it?"

"Trust me I've dealt with these things before." Naruto said before he heard Emilia moan. The silver-haired girl was now awake, but her mood was... It's hard to describe her mood, her facial expression seemed sad, guilty, and ashamed.

"...I-I'm so sorry, for causing so many problems. Inside the tomb, and now…" She said.

"It's alright, Emilia." The blond said as he used his hand to stroke hers gently. "How are your feeling?"

"Naruto-kun, I think it'll be better for us to leave you two alone." Rem said with a smile, knowing that Naruto would be able to comfort Emilia better if they were alone.

Rem left the room first. Ram came second, dragging Garfiel by his collar. Lewes wanted to ask Naruto some things, but thought it better to leave them alone in the room, for now. All other people were gone now, leaving the two alone.

Naruto looked at Emilia's face in concern. She seemed really exhausted and shooked after she took the Trial.

"Emilia, are you okay?"

"I-I'm okay. I-I failed my Trial, b-but it's okay." Emilia said, her voice and her body shaking. "I-I'll do it again… I-I'm already, starting to know what happens in it, in the Trial… R-Right." Her eyes shed tears, breaking Naruto's heart to see her like this.

"Emilia, don't blame yourself. It's okay. Tomorrow, I'll take the Trial for you." He tried to calm her before she hurt herself in her sorrow, but that seemed to be the wrong thing to say.

"N-Naruto, you… you can't leave this to me?"

"What?"

"You saw me doing badly, so you're thinking you can't leave the Trial to me… so, in my place…"

"No, I didn't say that-"

"No, I can tell what you're thinking, Naruto. Y-You were able to overcome it properly, but far from overcoming it, I… I hadn't even resolved myself to face it… that past, with this Trial…" Emilia shook her head, not listening to Naruto's words.

Her lips trembled slightly. This wasn't good for her, she was torturing self, something he could not save her from, unless she wanted him to.

"But if I don't face it, I won't overcome the Trial! Right, that's right… If I don't overcome the Trial, don't overcome the past… I'll never be a ruler! If I don't let the villagers, and people from Sanctuary outside-" Whatever Emilia going to say was cut off by Naruto who pulled her into a hug.

"Emilia, don't…" He muttered while patting his hand on her back. "You don't have to do this to yourself. Please, relax and rest."

"E-Everyone looked at me… because… "Mother" and me… No. Th-That's not true. The truth is different. Back then, I… I-"

"You don't have to remember, Emilia. Please…calm down." Naruto tried to comfort her.

"Why won't you be mad? Y-You saw how I failed, but you're still being kind to me…" Emilia said, her hold on him tightening.

"Because I love you, Emilia. I'm not mad at you for trying and failing, I'm sad that you're hurting yourself like this." Naruto said. "I'm here for you. If you ever need me, you can always count on me. Remember that I'm your knight and most importantly, you're my girl. I want the best for you."

Emilia widened her eyes, more tears flowing down, and she let out choked sobs before she buried herself in his chest. She let out a wail and cried out, never letting go of him until she ran out of tears. Naruto could tell she had a horrible past and wouldn't stop blaming herself for it.

This situation was really beginning to creep him out and he was catching himself thinking silently about it more and more. Emilia was more or less his mirror image, an outcast of society that had no hand in her pain but was still going out of her way to try to not only change the minds of those that hated her but also lead them into a better future.

Even the very situation they were in mere moments ago was similar to one of his own journeys, she was trying to cope with her past and overcome her demons in order to be the best version of herself, just like he did once upon a time.

The main difference was that she had some people in her life already while he had to start from nothing, and he was going to be damned if he abandoned her now.

He understood that Emilia would trip and fall in her way to being the person she wanted to be, but she would have him to fall back on. He was determined to help her reach her goal. To see her bloom into a powerful mage that would be feared by her enemies and a wise King who would lead her people to greatness.

They stayed together for several minutes, not speaking to each other, only seeking comfort and warmth from their embrace. Naruto's chakra and presence managed to calm her down, she was no longer shaking anymore.

"Feel better now?" He asked, uncaring for his now stained shirt.

"Yes…" She muttered while snuggling in his chest.

"That's good then."

He noticed she didn't let go of him and that she had no intention of doing so anytime soon. They stayed together for another minute until Emilia reluctantly let go.

When they were face to face, she couldn't help but notice his azure eyes and the care hid deep beneath them. This, in turn, made her realize that they were back to the position they were in when he woke up from meeting with Echidna, but his time she didn't back off. Her heart desired something at this moment, and Naruto was the only one who could give it to her, damn those books and their sweet words, so she just lunged for it.

Who knew why she did what she did at that moment? Was it because she was tired? Because she was emotionally damaged? Or perhaps because she just wanted to? She certainly didn't understand what was going on. Not until her lips tasted another pair. She saw Naruto's eyes widen slightly before he relaxed and allowed her to do what she wanted to.

The moment was magical to her, her stomach was filled with little butterflies, her lips felt as though in heaven, her mind shut down for a second before rebooting, and she felt lightheaded.

It was nothing more than an innocent gesture of the love she felt for the man in front of, but for some reason, those seconds meant so much for her. When they finished, they only looked at each other's eyes, both with rosy cheeks.

She changed her mind, her books could not describe the feeling she was experiencing at this moment.

Emilia grasped his hand with hers, feeling a pit of dread forming when she thought of Naruto. She… She didn't care where, she just wanted to stay with him, be it in her world or in his, it mattered little. But for now, she was content with her life, who knew how the future was going to be, but she'd cross that bridge when she was there.

She felt his hand holds her cheek and clean the tears she didn't know she had shed. She grabbed his hand before it got away as she placed it on her cheek again to feel his warmth.

"Now you feel better?" Naruto asked, looking at Emilia who nodded to him. "That's good, I was already missing your smile."

Emilia giggled softly and finally lied down on the bed, her mind shutting down without her wanting it to. "Naruto, c-can you sleep with me tonight, I want to rest in your arms…" The half-elf said with a blush on her cheeks, using every drop of energy to try and convince him.

The blond smiled softly before kissing her forehead, he took off the black sweater and his headband as he placed them on the drawer. He slipped into bed with Emilia, his arm encircling the half-elf.

Emilia moved closer to him and hugged back, their foreheads touching, and staring into each other's eyes. Her head was now resting on his shoulder in a position only lovers would use, but neither cared enough to move away.

They finally fell asleep with Emilia nuzzled into Naruto's chest. She enjoyed in Naruto's arms and felt so much safe with him.

She wouldn't remember the next day, but that night she had the best dreams.

* * *

Echidna sat on her chair in the grassland that was her dream, drinking tea with a smile on her face. Strange… why was she smiling? Normally she would have an uninterested scowl or an evil smile. She was thinking about her new acquaintance, Naruto. The young man certainly brought a smile to her face, he was at no point hateful toward her and didn't seem threatened at all.

Naruto was a singular human, her favorite interaction with him was probably the whole "Tea makes you small" thing. Echidna let a warm giggle, how entertaining those few seconds were, she was looking forward to his arrival.

"Too bad he's gone. He's a strange one." She said before her eyes turned serious. She felt familiar mana approaching her position. "But perhaps that's just what I should expect, from someone you're entrusting your feelings toward."

"Only to him. Only to him. Only to him. Only to him." A soft but powerful voice repeated that sentence.

"Sealed up in your castle, and even with the occasional meeting, fears and winds are being made to forget. What a predicament, you can be so insistent. Not that I can comprehend it." She said her voice now devoid of any emotion.

"Don't touch my beloved. Don't touch my beloved."

Echidna's brows furrowed in displeasure to the figure in front of her. Before her eyes, the figure of a woman appeared. A silhouette clad in a pure-black dress, with long, silver hair. An ominous, black shadow covered everything from her chest upwards, her face not visible.

The Witch of Greed accepted the presence of this... thing, which suddenly appeared after Naruto's departure as if it were natural. As if she knew it was going to happen.

"Call it a natural result. You get to stomp around recklessly through the heart of your dearly devoted. I tried not to touch any of your domains but… I suppose you two can't keep from the encroachments?" She asked.

"Even a finger. Even a flap of skin. Even a nail's cuticle. Even a single hair. Even one bead of sweat. Even one drop of spit. Even one single word. Even one gasp of breath. Even one fragment of emotion, all of it..."

"Belongs to me, is what you mean. My goodness, when I'm with you even I want to forfeit my name of Greed. I can't conceive going so far for just one single person."

"I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you."

And so, Envy surely would not forgive Greed for touching what was hers. The figure took a step forward. By that action alone, the whole grassland was swallowed by shadows. Echidna barely managed to avoid damage by jumping backward, but the shadow took the form of an arm as it perused her, aiming for her neck. She let a single sigh slip.

"Being erased here would make me leave behind more than a few regrets. You've forced me to take a rather cowardly way out-" Right after Echidna ducks, the arm aiming for her was abruptly deflected by another very similar in nature.

"So incessant with the summonings, haa. Can't get any peaceful sleep, huu." A familiar voiced said, it was Sekhmet. She flopped on the floor not wanting to stay on her feet. This didn't discourage the shadows that repeated their actions. But… "Haa, it's not good."

The same happens as shadows fought an almost invisible battle. Half of the darkness subsided. The silhouette raised its head loosely, lifted its right arm, and pointed at Sekhmet. Commanded by the simple action, a huge swarm of arms sprung out of the shadow covering half the room, a black curtain of death was heading toward the lazy witch in the floor.

"Didn't just I tell you, it's not good, huu."

The whirlpool of black shadow arms dissipated in an instant, and the after effect of it slams into the silhouette, shooting her toward a wall made by more shadows. Sekhmet hasn't moved at all during all of this and is still just sitting there with her knees in her hands. The silhouette's body started breaking down, still getting assaulted by Sekhment's attack.

"With most of your powers sealed, haa. And while inside a castle made by that mean-spirited Echidna, huu. In a condition inferior to your true strength, you've no chance of beating me, huu." Sekhmet yawned. The attacks stopped and the figure fell to its knees when a merciless blow from above crushed it. Doping to the floor after the merciless assault Envy looked at Greed.

"Why interfere with me? Why interfere with me? Why interfere with me and him?"

"Haa. Even answering would be a pain." Sekhmet said as she watched Envy's shadow being scattered into nothing. "This is such a pain… How was that again?… Oh!... Huuu, what a drag…"

* * *

**Oh! According to the web novel, I might change it for next chapter 14 because Elsa is dead. M****eili is still alive, but she won't appear next chapter****.**


	14. Chapter 14

**This chapter has been edit by the same editor, XPartan Caos. All the credits to the editor for grammar, editing, and spelling.**

**One of reviewer asked question: Are you gonna do an isekai quartet fanfic w your re zero naruto in it?**

**A: I might doing it until this Arc 4 is finish.**

* * *

Naruto slowly regained consciousness when the sun shined down on his face mercilessly, countless needles of light stabbing his closed eyelids. He slowly rubbed his eyes with his hand, clearing any cobwebs from his vision and blocking any light from assaulting him anymore. He began his normal morning routine with the first and most important step, curse the sun for being so bright.

Grumbling under his breath, he began to sit in his bed but felt a strange weight in his side. Turning, he found a cute half-elf still asleep, her hands loosely resting in his chest and her face in his shoulder. If her expression was any indication, she was certainly having a nice dream.

He couldn't help but smile at Emilia's cute sleepy face, wishing to stay there and see her for a few minutes but knowing things had to be done. So, with a heavy heart, he brushed her silver bangs from her forehead and leaned forward to kiss her on the forehead, causing her to snuggle into his chest, trying to cling to the heat of his body since the air was a bit chilly. "Emilia, wake up." He shook her gently, trying to wake her up.

The silver-haired girl grumbled lightly, cracking an eye open for a second before pulling the blankets to cover the two of them and nuzzled into Naruto's side. "Nooo~ I wanna sleep." She said lazily before she laughed when her ribs were quickly assaulted by his fingers. "Naruto, that tickles, stop!"

The two had a good sleep last night, even if the events leading to them sleeping together were very stressful. Thankfully Naruto managed to bring Emilia back from her little trip to her past and was able to soothe her enough to not have nightmares about the near torturous event.

Emilia fully opened her purple eyes and scanned her surroundings for a second before her dizzy eyes landed on his cheeks. She seemed to ponder something for a second before she began to stroke his whisker-like marks. It made Naruto laugh lightly and to nuzzle in her hand like a fox, his chubby cheeks certainly selling the image.

"Hehehe, Naruto, you look so cute." Emilia said with a lighthearted giggle, getting up as she continued to stroke his whiskers. "How does it feel? Is it comfortable?"

"It is, Emilia. Your hands are the best in the world. Wish we could do this a lot more." The blond shinobi said with a smile.

"Then, you can ask me anytime, whenever you need me."

"Anytime?… Sounds pretty promising. You're the best girlfriend, dattebayo!"

Emilia giggled at her new boyfriend, she was still getting used to the good sensations that word caused her. Speaking of which...

"...Naruto, can you kiss me again?" She asked, looking away to hide her face from him, she was depressed yesterday but that kiss was the one memory she could make out in all the haze that was her memories from last night, alongside falling asleep with him but that wasn't here nor there.

The blond chuckled softly at her cute expression and sat next to her, waiting for her gaze to meet his. When their eyes met he kissed Emilia on her lips, holding her cheek with his hand. Their kiss was far from passionate or even practiced, but it did the job of making them feel each other's love. The kiss was over in a breath but they just leaned into each other, touching their foreheads and nuzzling their noses, both content with the silence that followed.

It wasn't long before Naruto and Emilia pulled away from each other, both had smiles on their faces, though Naruto's carried a little concern for the half-elf. The memories of what had happened the day before were still plaguing his mind and now that Emilia was noticeably calm, he decided to bring his concerns to the surface.

"How are your feeling, Emilia?" He asked holding her hand to comfort her.

"I'm okay, Naruto. Thank you for everything." The half-elf said with a light, almost tired, smile. "You did everything you could to cheer me up. I'm sorry for clinging to you last night and for being a bother."

"It's okay, Emilia. You weren't a bother, at all." Naruto said as he went to the drawer to put on the things he left there the night before. When he wrapped his headband around his forehead, he walked back to Emilia and sat on the bed. "You needed it."

Emilia finally got up from the bed and put her boots on. She rested her head on Naruto's shoulder as she held his hand. "Naruto, it's about the first Trial. You faced your past, but you don't need to tell me about that since you already told me about that yourself. I haven't told you about _my _past, I-" She paused when Naruto placed his finger on her lips to stop her.

"Emilia, there's no need for you to tell me about your past. I don't want to hear it because the memories are still fresh, this happened yesterday… What I'm trying to say is that you don't have to try and tell me something that clearly hurts you right now, I can wait." Granted, he knew some of Emilia's past because he asked Roswaal about it since he wanted to make sure there was nothing too traumatic for her to face and to be prepared in case he had to act, but he didn't know her full story, there were things only Emilia could tell him and he wanted her to tell him when she was ready.

"I know that, Naruto. This is why I wanted to tell you that I want to retake the first Trial and that you don't have to worry about me. Today, I won't lose! I'll win the first Trial, no matter what!"

Naruto stared at her purple eyes, checking to see if she's ready to retake the first Trial, not out of untrust but out of concern. To be honest, he wasn't so sure she could take on her past, but there was a part of him that wanted to believe in Emilia's strong eyes and fierce determination.

He smiled at Emilia before kissed her on the cheek, causing her to blush. He chuckled at her cute face and was slapped on his shoulder lightly by an embarrassed Emilia.

"What a cute face you have there, I love it." He grinned with a playful look on his face.

"Naruto! Stop joking around with me, I'm serious! Do you think this is-" Emilia gasped when he wrapped his arms around her waist and her face glowed red to a whole new level. She felt his chin resting on her shoulder and stopped to struggle on his grasp.

She felt like she was being protected in this position, his warmth invaded her and her mock anger disappeared in an instant.

"Sorry for joking with you, Emilia. You know me. I think you're ready to retake the first Trial. You have an idea of what will happen, use that knowledge to your advantage." Naruto said, moving away from her and offering her a hand. "Let's go. It's time for you to show the Trial who's boss."

"Yeah!"

* * *

Naruto and Emilia met Rem and the others outside, but they noticed both of them holding hands and coming out of the same room, however, none of them had a comment on the matter.

Rem did flash them a smile of encouragement, knowing exactly what was happening. She hoped this relationship would help not only Emilia, but the whole kingdom. Naruto was certainly someone she could see managing the kingdom in a few years, and Emilia was perfect to rule by his side. She was certain their union would help them enter a new era.

"Emilia-sama, how are you feeling today?... Why are you holding Naruto-kun's hand?" Ram said as she looked at her strangely. It wasn't as though she was against the idea that they were in a relationship, it was the fact that she was still a little frightened by her last encounter with Naruto that made her ask.

"Well, Naruto and I… became boyfriend and girlfriend." Emilia answered, having a blush on her cheeks as she looked at Naruto. "I don't have experience with love, but I'm willing to learn with him... Speaking of new experiences, I'm going to retake the first Trial."

"I'm not that surprised you and Naruto became a couple, but congratulations anyway." Lewes said, looking at the half-elf and the human boy. She had a doubt, however... "Regarding the Trial, are you sure about this, Naruto? It's not my intention to come off as disrespectful, but out of the two of you, you are the one that has the best chances of beating the Trial."

"I'm sure. I believe in Emilia. She will pass the first Trial and then the other two after that." Naruto said, speaking from experience. "She's growing stronger, believe me, she can do it."

Lewes looked at him for a second and only nodded in affirmation. "Very well... Naruto, can I have a word with you alone?" She said.

"Yeah, I was going to ask you the same, but I have to get back to Roswaal's mansion. Is it urgent?" He said.

"...No, don't worry about it. It can wait."

"Eh? Why? Is there something wrong?" Emilia asked, looking a little worried.

"Nothing wrong. There's something I wanted to talk with Frederica and Beatrice." Naruto answered.

"How long will you be gone?" Rem asked, curious.

"It won't take long. I'll be right back in a second." He said as he looked at Emilia and patted her on the head. "Can you do it without me?"

Naruto was going away not only because he wanted to speak with the residents of Roswaal's mansion but because he wanted Emilia to grow into her own person. He understood the importance of Emilia knowing he was there when she needed him, but it was important that she could do these challenging things without him. Her independence to him was just as important as her knowing she had a companion who would do anything for her.

He knew from experience that the greatest challenges you faced alone, but that you had to have the trust of those behind you to gain greater power. He trusted her with this challenge and if she didn't succeed he would be for her.

**"The war and coming to this world have certainly made you wise. You are starting to sound like the old man, Hagoromo."**

Hearing Kurama's approving tone filled him with relief, if Kurama approved of his actions then that meant that he was walking a good path, after all, Kurama was a very intelli-

**"A shame it didn't make you any smarter, but oh well, I guess I'm asking too much."**

Never mind, fuck that fluffball.

"Of course, Naruto! I can do it! And… Uhh…" The half-elf paused briefly before she rose to her tiptoes and gave him a peck on the cheek. Her face turned red after she did that. "It's a good luck kiss!"

Naruto chuckled at her cute expression, she definitely learned that by watching someone else or by reading a magazine, so he leaned down and kissed her cheek too. "It's a good luck kiss." He said cheekily, looking at her face turn really red, she could do it when they were alone, but she felt really embarrassed to do it in public.

The blond shinobi summoned a clone to guard the place for him, it would remain inactive and meditating to last longer. He was getting ready to leave when a hand grabbed the back of his sweater. He looked behind himself and was a little surprised to find Rem preventing him from leaving.

"Rem, what's up? Do you need anything?" He asked, feeling curious.

"I want to go with you. What if the Witch Cult comes back to the mansion? You might need my assistance."

"I'll be fine, Rem. You worry too much." Naruto said with a gentle smile, patting her head. He looked at Ram who was trying her hardest to ignore Garfield's incessant talking. "Besides, I don't want you to leave your sister's side so soon and I'm positive you don't want to either."

"... I really don't want to leave Ram, but you've been helping me and Emilia so much. Now, it's my turn to help you, even if it's only by being there. Also, I..."

"…Alright. Let's go back to the mansion together." He accepted Rem's offer, making her smile happily. Now, the two were heading out, but Rem saw an obvious problem, at least to her.

"Naruto, we need a ground dragon so we can travel there faster." Rem said.

"Oh, there's no need for a ground dragon, I can run faster than them and probably for longer. Didn't you see me running?"

Rem put a finger on her chin with a thoughtful look on her face, trying to remember if she had seen him go faster than a ground dragon. "...Oh! I remember-" She gasped when she was scooped up in his arms. Her cheeks automatically turning red.

"Hold on tight." Naruto smirked at her like a madman.

"O-Ok."

* * *

After a couple of minutes traveling at shinobi speeds, Naruto and Rem finally returned to Roswaal's mansion safely.

Naruto hoped that the real him could make Beatrice get out of the library. And he had a little question to ask Frederica, nothing important, really. He wouldn't normally make such a trip just for that question, it was mostly to get away from the Sanctuary and to visit Beatrice.

Naruto knocked on the door and waited for someone to open. The blond smiled when he recognized who opened the doors fo them, it was the new maid, Petra. The cute girl just opened the doors and stared at them with some surprise.

"Woah! You two certainly returned quickly!" Petra said as she welcomed them, her face was sparkly and filled with joy. "Rem onee-sama came with you! I'm surprised!"

"Hello Petra, how was your first job?" Rem asked kindly with a smile.

"It was good, but being a maid is a little hard!" The new maid said as she looked at Naruto. "Naruto-sama, how can I serve you? Are you thirsty? Do you need to rest?"

"I'm ok, Petra. We're not here to stay. Where's Frederica? I want to talk with her." The blond asked petting the little girl's head.

"Frederica onee-sama is out checking the barrier in the mountains, so you'll have to wait 'till she gets back." She said.

"I see." Naruto looked around the yard, seeing the work for the day was mostly done. It always baffled him that so little people took care of the entire mansion and they always seemed to be able to do so perfectly. He guessed it was bad luck Frederica was absent when they arrived, so instead of just waiting, he decided to do something else. "Since I got here early, tell me what did you do today?"

Petra broke in an adorable smile as she held his hand and the three of them walked inside the mansion. "Well, Frederica onee-sama taught me everything like-like how to wash clothes, how to cook, and how to clean." She answered him with great enthusiasm, she even stumbled with her words for a second, how cute.

"Really? Maybe…you can cook something for me, I'm hungry." He asked, curious to see what Petra had learned in so little time.

"Not yet, Naruto-sama! I'm still a beginner, but I can offer you a drink." She had a pout, no doubt not very pleased at her slow advancements in her cooking skills.

"Sure, apple juice will be fine for me. Do you want something, Rem?" He looked at the blue-haired oni.

"That would be wonderful. Maybe some tea will be good for me to drink." She said since she knew tea was one of the first things they taught maids to do.

"Okay! Just sit on the couch. Don't go away!" Petra said running for the kitchen.

"I'm not running anywhere, but Petra if you go fast you'll trip, be careful!" Naruto said with some concern for the younger girl.

"Don't worry!"

He began to ask himself once again if that was how Sarutobi or even Teuchi felt when he did stuff without thinking twice.

The two sat on the couch, waiting for Petra to finish their drinks or for Frederica to show up. And after that, he's going to talk with Beatrice. Come to think of it, something didn't quite feel good around here, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

"Something wrong, Naruto-kun?" Rem asked concerned, looking at Naruto who was once again spacing out, it worried her since he was doing that a lot. "Are you ok?"

"It's nothing, Rem. It's been a day since we left the mansion again, it's just that I have to catch up to all that is going on..." He replied as he gave her a tired smile. It felt nice to have someone worrying over him. "Sorry for worrying you."

Rem shook her head and gave a smile to him. "It's ok, Naruto... I saw that you and Emilia became a couple. I'm happy for you two." She said, the memory of Emilia saying that they had become a couple still fresh.

"Yeah, we are now an official couple, a crazy situation if you ask me. It was nice to see her so happy." Naruto smiled, but his smile changed into a sad expression when he remembered Rem's feelings. He suddenly felt like the lowest scum in history. "Rem, about your feelings toward me…"

He was beginning to ask himself if this world was made specifically to mock him in a very sneaky way. Rem had feelings he couldn't return because his heart belonged to another person, but she still remained at his side, a situation entirely too similar to his and Sakura's. Emilia's journey and her objective was beginning to resemble his so much he couldn't help but compare her to himself. The council and the nobles were entirely too similar to his own council, a bunch of assholes. He could continue to compare but Rem was now talking to him.

"It's ok, Naruto-kun. You don't have to feel sorry about me. Your heart belongs to Emilia, not me." The blue-haired maid said while shaking her head. "Remember, I'll still be a part of your life even if I'm not with you, that's a promise."

"I…Right." Naruto said feeling his hear reach out to the maid. He was severely inexperienced in this area, he simply didn't know what to say or what to do. "I-"

He was interrupted by the sound of the front doors opening. It was revealed to be Frederica. She spotted them and her eyes widened in surprise.

"Oh! You two returned quickly!" Frederica said as she closed the door behind her and approached them.

"Yeah, sorry for arriving out of the blue like that, Frederica." Naruto apologized to the maid.

"You don't need to apologize. You two came here in a ground dragon, right? Should I return it to the stables?"

"There's no need for that, I ran us both here."

Frederica blinked in confusion. "You... ran here?" She asked, looking dumbfounded.

"It does sound strange, but he's telling you the truth." Rem said.

"I guess I didn't tell you about my shinobi skills. But then again, I guess people would think I'm a crazy guy if I told them that I could run faster than an earth dragon." Naruto said with slight amusement at Frederica's hesitance to believe him.

Frederica let out a soft giggle at his reasoning. "Emilia-sama was right about you, Naruto. You're a crazy person with a strange sense of humor." She said.

"Hey! I resent that!" He said with a huff and a pout causing Frederica to raise her hands in mock surrender.

"I'm back with the apple juice and the tea for-oh! Frederica onee-sama is here." Petra sounded surprised as she came back from the kitchen holding a juice bottle and a teacup on a small plate for Naruto and Rem. Even though she wanted to ask her fellow maid how had been her little trip to the barrier, she continued to focus on her maid duties as she put a plate on the table and passed the drinks for them.

"Thank you for the drink, Petra." Naruto said with a smile, stroking the young girl's head with his hand. He could hear her cute giggling at his actions.

"Naruto and Rem. May I ask why you two returned here?" Frederica asked curiously, seeing them here early surprised her.

"I wanted to talk with you, but Petra…" Naruto looked at Petra. "Me, Rem, and Frederica wanted to have a talk alone. Can you do that for me?"

"Of course, Naruto-sama!"

* * *

Watching Petra go he let out a sigh, he couldn't help but feel bad for the little girl, she seemed to be so happy to see them, and he just sent her away like that. He sent a clone after her, if only to entertain her. Rem just sat beside him, drinking her tea.

"Now, may I ask why you two returned?" Frederica repeated her question, staring at Naruto and Rem. Noticing their facial expressions, she sighed with disappointment, already having an idea as to what was the problem, or rather, who. "Is this about my brother? If so, I deeply apologize for my brother's behavior, he's always been a little loud-mouthed and rude."

"No need to apologize, Frederica. Naruto-kun and I understood Garfiel's behavior." Rem comforted her. "Your brother attacked us to protect the Sanctuary. Besides, Naruto-kun and I already forgave him.

"Frederica, has Garfiel challenged the Trial?" Like he said before, this was not an important question, it would only give him more information about Frederica and Garfiel's personalities and story. However, it did seem like an important question to Frederica since she seemed very taken aback by it.

"What? Why are you-"

"I just thought that he might have done it since he seems to want to stay as far away from the trial as possible and he's a demi-human, so..."

Frederica sighed as she closed her eyes, her mind traveling to her past with her brother, she saw no harm in revealing her past to them, even if it was something personal. "I…I wasn't the only one who desired for the Sanctuary's release. My younger brother, too, had a time where he was eager to show the others the outside world. Our mother had left us in the Sanctuary to find our father, but she never came back. Time went by and the hope my brother once had for the people to see the outside world transformed into fear for it since he thought our mother had been killed, grandma Lewes certainly wasn't helping. I wanted to go outside but my brother was far too gone in his fear for the outside world, so I left him behind. He tried before, but grandma made him promise never to try again."

"You've never tried it?" Rem asked.

"I knew that I could free Sanctuary if I overcame the Trial, but I lacked the courage my brother once had. I never came back, so I never tried to. Why do you ask me this?"

Naruto could definitely imagine Garfiel being influenced by Echidna like that. Yes, he knew the connection Lewes and Echidna shared, she must've thought him an idiot if she didn't think he would find out, he was beginning to think this world had no sensors. He left a clone behind for a reason. The young Garfiel likely challenged the tomb's Trial with full enthusiasm only to fail it and never try it again because Lewes convinced him not to, and he thought of her as family.

"I didn't take the worst part of the Trial, since I had already accepted my past, it was Emilia who took it. As we speak, she is likely already trying to cope with her past once again." Naruto said. "Hey, come to think of it Lewes is your grandmother, how did that happen?" As far as he could tell they shared no traits or even similar energy, and he really doubted Echidna would allow herself to have kids.

"Yes, she took care of us since our mother never came back for us."

"Never came back?" Rem wondered.

Frederica nodded. "She never came back, but I know she didn't abandon us, she loved me and my brother. That's why I quit my maid's job, to search for my mother, but sadly I didn't find her…" She said remorsefully.

"...That explains a lot."

"I'm sorry about your mother…but after all this time, do you still believe your mother is out there?" Naruto asked seriously.

"Of course, I still believe she's out there. I feel it, I still haven't found her, but I can't give up until I find my mother." Frederica said, showing determination.

"...I think I can help you with that." Naruto said with a smile as the blond maid blinked in surprise when he offered his help.

"Really? Can you do that for me and my brother?" She asked, her voice full of hope.

"Yes, I can use Sennin mode to search for her, and if that doesn't help then I can go further, but I don't think that will be necessary." He said. "You see… I have a mother who was strong and kind, kinda like your mother, but she passed away when I was born. I love her and my father for giving up all they were to give me a chance at life, so, I'll help you, you deserve your mother's love." She didn't mention her father so he didn't either, he guessed it was a sore subject.

Frederica widened her eyes with shock at him, this human was a kind person. "I… I don't know what to say. How can I repay you?"

"There's no need to, Frederica." Naruto smiled. "It's for free."

"I…thank you." She said with a lighthearted smile.

* * *

"Hey, Beatrice. How're you feeling today?" Naruto asked, he literally appeared in front of the door he sensed was the actual location of the library and went inside as fast as possible, knowing Beatrice she would try to move the doors.

"A little bit better-kashira. Your blither is annoying enough, and now you're inside my room. It's hopeless… truly." Beatrice said, sitting on a wooden stepladder and holding the gospel in her arms. She seemed sad or even depressed about something.

That was Petelgeuse's gospel... She seemed to have an emotional attachment to the book. He didn't know what's going on with her and the gospel, but that wasn't why he was here at the moment.

So, Naruto sat on the ground and leaned on a bookshelf, his eyes looked at Beatrice seriously. "Beatrice, we need to talk.." His voice changed into a serious tone. "What is Echidna to you." Much like Lewes, now that he knew Echidna and had analyzed her energy he immediately saw the similarities between Echidna's and Beatrice's energy.

Beatrice stood up, looking at Naruto with a pleading expression. She bit her lip and her eyes started to water.

"Echidna created me 400 years ago... she was my mother." Beatrice said, looking at the ground she seemed ready to burst into tears. "I can't leave the mansion because of the contract I have with her."

She fell on her knees on the floor, trying her best not to cry in front of him. The gospel she was holding hit the floor with a dull thud, and oddly enough the pages that were filled with information he couldn't read before were now pure white. Naruto approached the book ignoring the sobbing girl, for now, knowing Beatrice wouldn't appreciate it if he did something stupid right now.

Naruto could almost swear he saw Beatrice almost launch herself to the book on the floor but something held her back. He picked up the book and began to scan through the pages, he swore there were words on these last time he saw, but they… just disappeared.

"It's blank?" He asked, looking at the gospel.

"It's been… so long."

"Huh?"

"Since that gospel stopped indicating me any future, already, years… The role given to me was to maintain Echidna's archive of knowledge. To keep guarding this place until our eventual reunion-kashira."

"Are you saying all these books are Echidna's?" Naruto asked.

"She was someone… who liked gathering knowledge."

"Well, that makes sense." He said, having heard her introducing herself when she was describing each and every one of the witches.

Beatrice looked at him once she stopped cleaning her teary eyes. "The way you're talking about her… it seems you've entered the tomb-kashira."

"Yeah, I have. Echidna was…well… she's ok I guess. She allowed me to meet the other three witches, they were cool, except one of them…" Naruto said, sounding nervous, the Witch of Wrath, Minerva, had managed to make a lasting impression on him, even if she didn't really talk with him, she just complained and then hit him.

Naruto felt a lot of negative emotions from Beatrice, so much in fact, he thought Beatrice would just snap and cry or rage or worse.

"Why… Why are you helping me? Why do you care about me even after…after everything I said to you…" Beatrice said, now sounding very depressed.

Ever since the two of them met, Naruto made it a personal objective of his to always visit her at least once a day, with or without Puck, and she was beginning to grow mad because he never really stated a reason as to why he did what he did. He just stayed there and told stories about himself or his friends, the majority of them seemed nothing but things one would read in mythology or an adventure story, or he read a book in silence, content to just provide her with some company, something she secretly liked, especially if it was Puck and him.

"Because I care about you, Beatrice. You're my friend and I don't leave my friends behind." Naruto said with a lighthearted smile.

"She said that one day, 'They' would visit my archives. She told me to guard the archives until then." She said.

"They?"

"I was told-kashira. That until they come, my role is to guard the Forbidden Archives assigned to me. I can't tell whether you are 'They' or not."

Naruto narrowed his eyes at her, for some reason her tone bothered him.

"Whether you are 'They' or not… it doesn't matter-kashira." Beatrice said, raising her head and the emotions he felt from her were honestly hurting him. "You might not be 'They', but I don't care anymore. So…"

"Wai-"

"I want you to kill me, and end this contract-kashira. I want you to end this perpetual torment, and give me relief…" She said, her eyes watery and having a weak smile on her face.

His azures eyes narrowed in disbelief. She wasn't lying to him, but he felt something was amiss, so he wanted to ask her one more thing before doing something he might regret.

"Do you truly want to die? Do you truly want me to end your existence." He could do that, he still had these Truth Seeking Orbs. He could literally just end her with a touch… 'end' was not the word he would use, but how to describe destroying someone to their last atom and their very soul, forever dooming them to inexistence… 'erasing' someone would be a better term.

"No, I worded that wrong. I want my contract with Echidna to be ended. I just want to be freed from my bindings, from this eternal contract." Beatrice said.

"Beatrice…"

"It's been four hundred years since I became the caretaker of the Forbidden Archive. Four hundred years… that is how long I've simply obeyed the contract and waited-kashira. I can't take it anymore."

Naruto's guess is right, she didn't want to die, but who knew what desperation would make her do if she stayed in the Archive. Poor girl… she stayed so long just waiting for her mother, trapped here because of her own love. She at least had Puck, but now that the cat was missing he guessed that she had some time to think about her situation.

He listened to Beatrice's story, this girl didn't deserve to be stuck here, she deserved to have her freedom back.

...Goddammit! This is exactly what he was complaining about earlier! Beatrice's problem was almost like the bijuus. This world was truly made to toy with him.

"Beatrice, no matter what you try to tell me… nothing will change, but…" Naruto said, his eyes turning sharp. "…you still have a chance to be alive and be free from this place."

Beatrice with teary eyes listened to him, her last hope. "There is?" She asked fearing he had no answer, and that all this was just a dream made to torture her.

"Yes, there is. As long as you believe in yourself, you have a chance to change your life." Naruto said. "Choose me, Beatrice. If you choose me, to believe in me, I promise you, I'll find a way to get you out of here."

"B-But, you 'll go away…"

"No, I won't, you're just scared that I'll abandon you, but I wouldn't do that to you," Naruto said, approaching Beatrice and holding her hand. "Before I leave to complete my quest, let's be together. Let's live together. Let us create good memories so that you can forget your fears. Let's make that occasional smile a constant one."

Beatrice looked on in shock when he held her hand, but nevertheless, she accepted to hold his hand. She suddenly felt like all the problems in the world didn't matter. She was just encompassed in a protective barrier, like nothing could really hurt her anymore.

She wanted to scream, she wanted to get him out the Archive, she wanted with all her heart to hate him, to deny that he meant anything to her, to just run back and huddle herself in her room and continue on with her work till she became insane, to cut the one tie to the world that still hadn't given up on her, to continue with the only objective of her existence, to continue guarding Echidna's Archive… But she couldn't, she was just so tired of it all, and here she was, connecting her heart to very being that was dulling all her pain away like it was never there, the one that gave her hope via unknown means. A human, or perhaps something else.

She saw something strange happen to him. His body was suddenly engulfed in yellow magic, as if that was it's true and natural color. This was her second time seeing it, but the first time she dismissed it as a work of her imagination. Being in contact with him she could only describe this state like one thing: Divine.

So… this is… this is his true form. A being made of pure light.

And once again, as fast as it came, it was gone. Replaced by the blond idiot she knew, and the one she knew she cared for. She felt her heart racing, she just saw some incredible things and felt the most amazing sensations.

"Beatrice, do you want to go outside so you can explore the world with me and make friends along the way?" Naruto asked softly with a smile knowing her like no one else now, having had connected his own heart with hers, understanding her heart and her needs, even if she herself didn't know them.

Now Beatrice literally knew him better than anyone else in this whole world just as he knew Beatrice better than even Echidna herself. He felt this was a good way to help her. He undid the contract she had with Echidna and the only way he could do so, he eradicated her energy from Beatrice.

"Y-Yes… Yes, I do want to go outside!" Beatrice cried before she jumped hug on Naruto, both of them fell to the floor.

Naruto smiled at her answer and hugged her back, patting her back while she's crying. This girl stayed here too long, she deserved to go outside for her freedom. He understood this was a difficult decision to make, to go against her own creator to go to a world she had almost no experience with. She was a brave girl.

* * *

After spending some time in each other's company, Beatrice finally decided to step outside herself made prison. It took her a considerable amount of time to gather her courage, but he didn't mind waiting for her.

Beatrice blushed in embarrassment, she didn't know why she was so sentimental around Naruto, it was just something about him that made her feel at ease around him.

Rem was still waiting for them on the couch. "How are your feeling, Beatrice-sama?" She asked as she bowed to her, not very surprised to see that the blond had managed to get Beatrice to leave her room.

"I'm fine-kashira. What should we do, Naruto?" Beatrice asked, remaining by his side since this was very new territory to her.

"If you want you can come with me and Rem back to the Sanctuary." Naruto answered.

"I see… Very well. I shall go with you to the Sanctuary. I will do whatever I can-kashira."

Naruto smiled at her, patting her head, causing a blush to grow on her cheeks. "You're so cute when you blush, you should do it more often." He chuckled, earning a cute pout and a 'Hmph' from her.

It was weird, really. Now he knew that compliments elated Beatrice, but she wasn't fond of showing how much they truly meant to her. And Beatrice knew that he was just jesting around, but was being truthful at the same time, making the compliment much more delightful to her. Knowing someone to their very soul was a strange but delightful sensation.

"Naruto, how was-oh! Beatrice-sama, I'm surprised you're out of your room." Came Frederica's voice, sounding surprised.

"Oh! You came just at the nick of time!" Naruto said, letting go of Beatrice's hand and approaching the blond maid quickly. "We're going back to the Sanctuary, Frederica, can you come with us?"

"I…"

"Please, Frederica. Garfiel doesn't understand why you left him behind, he thinks you abandoned him. Unless you can tell him a good reason why you left him he won't get over his obsession with staying inside that place. I can feel he cares deeply about you and your mother, but if he doesn't get an answer to his pain, then things could escalate out of control."

Frederica looked down for a moment, deciding whether she'll go or not. She… She didn't want to go back because he's-no… That wouldn't happen again!

She shook her head and looked at Naruto. "Yes, I'll go with you." She answered before she gasped when Naruto grabbed her hands with his.

"Thank you, Frederica!" He said with a smile, making her face glow a pink hue. He didn't even notice though.

Naruto was going to speak, but his face turned serious when he caught the scent of evil in the mansion. Before he could warn the others, he saw Petra running from the hall and suddenly tackle him into a hug. She was crying, she was certainly afraid of something, but of what?

"Petra, what's wrong?" He asked calmly, patting her back as she looked to him with teary eyes.

"My apologies for scaring her."

The four heard a voice, and Petra immediately went behind Naruto. He looked at the hall she came from, feeling a presence coming closer.

The voice who spoke was revealed to be a man. He has a thin body with short, white hair. His eyes were gold and he was wearing a blue earring on his right ear. He wore white priest clothes and white pants. Judging by his appearance, he seemed human, but his energy told another story.

"It's my fault to scare the child, you always have to watch out for strangers." The man said with a polite smile, sounding way too friendly, as if he was apologizing to them for being a rude guest.

"Who are you? I've never seen you before." Frederica asked as her arms turned into golden, clawed hands covered in fur.

"I see, I see. You don't know me. But I know this building. This is a building that belongs to the powerful wizard, Roswaal L Mathers. I heard it housed one of the candidates for the throne, but sadly, they're not here."

"Naruto, be careful of him, he is not a human. His name is Regulus Corneas, he represents Greed." Beatrice said taking a few steps back, she was in no way powerful enough to beat this man, at least, not right now.

"He's a Sin Archbishop of the Witch Cult?!" Rem exclaimed, shocked, she quickly reached for her Morning Star and her horn was immediately present on her forehead.

Naruto unsheathed his kunai, preparing to face the Sin Archbishop of Greed. He remembered there were six of them, but since he killed Petelgease, only five remained. He was on guard, there was something off about this new guy right here.

The blond couldn't tell if this guy is human or not by feeling his presence, it was static, like what he was seeing was a corpse and not a living human, if he wasn't in front of him he wouldn't be able to tell if the guy existed at all, he wasn't sure if Frederica and Rem could fight him. Beatrice can fight, but her energy levels were far below their normal amount, and he couldn't just blast him to pieces since the village wasn't that far from the mansion… His eyes quickly shot open in shock as he realized that for Regulus to be here he had to pass through the village first.

"The villagers… What the hell did you do to them!?" He asked, sounding angry as he gripped his kunai.

"Oh… you mean the villagers that I walked past. Don't worry about them. They're fine, but feel lucky that he wasn't interested in them." Regulus said.

"They're not too good for me to eat… I want to eat something good! I want to eat something good!"

A high-pitched voice of a boy sounded from behind Regulus. Frederica and Rem's entire bodies stiffened as they looked behind the stranger. The shadow walked into the light from behind Regulus, it was revealed to be a boy.

He's a short boy with long, dark brown hair that extends past his thighs. He wore a dirty piece of cloth around his thin body. He wielded twin, small swords that are wrapped around his arms.

"I want to eat something delicious! Delicious!" The boy yelled in a maniacal tone as he looked at the group. "I'm Ley Batenkaitos, representing Gluttony. It was a good idea to come here and eat! When we sensed that our pet got killed, we came to check it out, and... that means someone around here has a good taste! I wanna eat them!"

_"Pet?... No…"_ Rem thought worriedly, figuring out that they're here for Naruto, the one who killed the Hakugei. She looked at Naruto, who stood next to her.

"So, you came here for the person who killed Hakugei." Naruto said, having figured out what pet they were talking about, as he focused on Ley. The boy was a mess of negative emotions, he was almost on par with Petelgeuse.

"That's right! That's right! I recognized the smell of Hakugei! You have the Hakguei's smell on you! You must be delicious!" Ley said showing teeth like those of that freak Kisame.

"We're not letting you hurt him." Frederica said as she stood in front of Naruto and guarded him from the archbishops, but a hand patted her back. Her eyes stared at the shinobi who smiled at her calmly.

"I appreciate what you're doing, but they only want me." He said. "Beatrice, can you teleport the four of you outta here? Warn the villagers." Since he united his heart with Beatrice's, he now had a very intricate knowledge of her abilities and her potential, and he had to say that a full-powered Beatrice was an enemy you had to think twice before confronting.

Beatrice nodded without hesitation, trusting him fully, and finally having a grasp on his true abilities. She felt like an idiot when she thought she had seen a fraction of his powers, she had no idea back then that he was just playing around. She opened her palm to create a portal for them to leave. "Hurry up and step into the portal. We can't stay here any longer." She said with a serious look on her face.

"But, we can't leave him here! Naruto-kun, please come with us." Rem said worried, holding his hand, hoping he would run with them. But he removed her hand as he shook his head.

Naruto stroked the blue-haired maid's head gently and smiled at her, assuring he'll be okay. "I won't lose to them. Believe me, I'll win and come back to you." He said as he looked down at Petra who also had a worried face. "Don't worry about me, Petra. I'll come back to you after I finish the job."

"You promise?" She asked.

"Promise." Naruto answered.

Now a little reassured, Beatrice and the three maids went inside the portal, leaving Naruto behind to handle the two Sin Archbishops on his own. Naruto turned around to face the two Sin Archbishops, the warmth that filled his eyes had been put out and only coldness remained.

He breathed slowly and relaxed, gripping his kunai to fight them. His eyes were on them like a pair of heat-seeking missiles.

"Just to let you know, I hate fighting. But if you're going to take an attitude like that, then that means you are ignoring my rights." Regulus said.

Naruto said nothing, already knowing both of these assholes were mad. "I'll take the two of you down, you guys don't have a chance to beat me, leave now. Final warning."

"Ah, what a good feeling! Come on, don't hold back!" Ley said as his eyes turned hungry, drool was beginning to escape his mouth. "LET'S EAT!"

"Why do I bother, they never listen."

* * *

Emilia glanced at the direction Naruto and Rem departed to Roswaal's mansion. She was anxious for an unknown reason. There was a clone of Naruto who was still in the Sanctuary, but something didn't seem right.

"Emilia-sama, is there something wrong?" Ram asked, approaching the half-elf after she finished replacing Roswaal's bandages.

The half-elf turned around to see her, she had a worried look on her face. "I just had a bad feeling. I'm worried about him…" She said as she held her hands together.

"Emilia-sama, we both know just how capable Naruto is. He can handle himself just fine." Ram said.

"But…"She almost disagreed with her, worried, but she breathed slowly, not letting the fear cloud her judgment. "You're right. I know Naruto can handle himself."

* * *

"Hurry everyone!" Petra yelled at the villagers as they packed their stuff into some carriages.

The battle has already started judging by the smoke in the direction of the mansion. Frederica and Petra managed to get all of the villagers into the carriages, it was quite easy to get them to evacuate since they were still installing themselves after the Witch Cult attacked, they tried to resist at first but several explosions were heard and they complied fast. The drivers are ready to ride the ground dragons, she was waiting for Beatrice and Rem who were on their guards for Sin Archbishops.

"Rem! Beatrice-sama! It's time for us to leave!" Frederica yelled at them, finishing the preparations to leave the village.

Rem clenched her teeth, she hated to leave Naruto in the mansion alone, fighting the two Sin Archbishops… No, she couldn't do it.

Her legs started to move forward to the mansion, but she stopped once she saw Beatrice walking next to her. "Beatrice-sama?" She asked.

"I don't care if you die there, but I'm not allowing your death to weigh on Naruto's mind-kashira." Beatrice said as her eyes turned serious.

"Beatrice-sama… thank you." Rem said as she turned to Frederica who was still waiting for them. "You must go ahead without us. We're going back to help Naruto."

Frederica stared at the blue-haired maid's eyes for a few seconds. She finally nodded and accepted her request as she told the driver to start riding the ground dragon. She glanced back at them and wished them good luck.

* * *

In the mansion, everything was filled with fire from the battle between the shinobi and the two Sin Archbishops. The hallways. The bedrooms. The kitchen room. Everything was now destroyed and was burning to ashes.

Coming from a hallway, the sparks of blades clashing against each other in the smoke created some flashes of light and loud clanging noises. Someone released a maniacal laugh, it sounded like a child… a psycho child. Shortly, it was revealed to be Ley, who was getting excited while fighting against his delicious meal, the blond spiky man, Naruto.

He stopped the blade from Ley's small swords from reaching his face. The psycho boy jumped away by doing with a backflip to dodge a sloppy swing attack from him, but his eyes lost track of him when he suddenly appeared at his back, ready to kill the kid in one, swift movement. Luckily for the small kid, the figure behind him had to dodge an incoming sword strike from seemingly nothing.

Naruto slid on the floor. He glared at Regulus who had attacked him with an invisible blade. That white-haired man was getting on his nerves.

"I'm impressed you dodged my attack, but you can't escape from us." Regulus said.

"You're right. I can't escape from you guys since I'm not trying to escape." Naruto grinned, starting to dash toward the two. He blocked a small blade from Ley and deflected the invisible blade.

He delivered a roundhouse kick to the boy's head, which launched him out of the mansion but not before breaking a window with his face.

Naruto charged toward Regulus with an open palm where a Rasengan appeared in a second, all the while dodging the fast, invisible blades. Just before he thrust it into Regulus's chest, the Sin Archbishop stood still and took the attack head-on. To Naruto's overwhelming surprise, the wall behind the man was completely obliterated, but the man himself was unharmed.

The blond shinobi slid back on the floor, since the shockwave of the attack was directed toward him now. He had no idea what kind of move was that, but it was very of Nagato's Shinra Tensei, just that the body used it in defense, repelling any attacks. He was going to make his next technique, but a bunch of ice spikes interrupted him. The person who interrupted was Ley, still alive and kicking.

"Th-That hurt! Really, really hurt! But I'm still hungry and still want to eat you!" Ley yelled in a sadistic manner, showing his psychotic smile to Naruto. "I really wanna eat you! I can't lose my delicious meal!"

_"This kid lost his mind. What is-woah!"_ Naruto snapped out his thought when he dodged a familiar wind blade from that kid. He glanced back at the wall just to see it sliced open. "That move… Where did you learn that?!"

"Oh, you're familiar to the Hundred-Man Strike. You see... we thought that they were the ones who killed Hakugei. But, don't worry about them. Some of them were left alive when we realized that they weren't the ones who killed the whale." Regulus said, pointing his finger at Naruto. "They should be thanking you for saving their life. Otherwise, we would've killed all of them and wasted our time in the process."

"It was a delicious meal! It was a delicious meal! Enough to satisfy my hunger until I found my greatest meal, you!" Ley said.

Naruto's eyes widened in shock when he realized something, the move Ley used, it belonged to Crusch! "You made a big mistake." He said with an enraged expression before he charged toward them with the intent to kill.

The two Sin Archbishops charged toward him together, but Naruto suddenly vanished like wind and appeared between them. They were shocked and couldn't dodge when he delivered a high kick to Ley's head, sending the boy to the front yard and crashing into the ground again. He sensed an incoming magic attack from Regulus right above him, but quickly evaded his swing.

Naruto dodged the invisible blade and jumped behind Regulus, who was in mid-air, and delivered an elbow strike on his back. When the Sin Archbishop fell down, the shinobi grabbed his leg and slammed him on the floor, breaking it apart and both of them fell to the first floor, where their fight had begun.

Naruto kicked him hard and he went through the wall crashing on the same spot Ley had landed on. Naruto was going to finish Regulus, but Ley stopped him by moving in front of him, raising his fist to punch him. The shinobi was going to just block the attack, but a sudden spike of magic told him not to and he just dodged the attack… His eyes widened in surprise when Ley punched the ground.

Naruto watched the ground get crushed by Ley's fist, he would rate that one a solid six out of ten if he used Tsunade's basic attack as an example.

But then, he saw Ley charge him with his twin swords to stab him. Naruto blocked that attack with his kunai, and now he had to deflect every one of Ley's attacks. Was Ley's ability similar to the Sharingan? He used the Hundred-Man Strike, a strike he was almost positive belonged exclusively to Crusch.

Naruto's eyes turned sharp as he deflected Ley's short swords up in the air. His other hand opened and a Rasengan was formed before he thrust it into Ley's stomach. It was a direct hit so the shinobi kept pushing the Rasengan until the orb fired off from his hand, and Levy got launched along with it.

Naruto landed on the ground, looking at Regulus who is his next target to destroy.

"Naruto-kun!"

The familiar voice caught Naruto's attention as he turned to the gate and saw Rem, running back with Beatrice. Why did they come back?! Quickly, he looked at Regulus's, he was now focusing on Rem raising his arm, ready to just kill her.

Naruto clenched his teeth and began to move towards Rem to save her life. The blond shinobi couldn't see it but Regulus's fingertips sliced through the air as if tossing something at him; however, the projectile was invisible. That attack might have been something like an "Unseen Hand".

It struck his arm, piercing it without much difficulty. He just grunted in pain and ripped the object from his arm, the hole in his arm gone when the 'lance' hit the floor. They used Rem like a distraction, though she was never in any danger since he saw Beatrice with her hand raised, ready to just counter any attack the white-haired man tried to throw at them.

Naruto slid on the ground and stopped, realizing Rem was protected. He glared at Regulus for even tying to hurt Rem. "That's it!" He said as he opened his hand, creating a Rasenshuriken to obliterate the two Sin Archbishops.

"I'm very impressed you saved your friend's life in 'time', but it's time for me to leave." Regulus said as he carried an unconscious Ley in his arm. "It was nice to meet you. Next time, I won't show you any mercy." He vanished at an incredible speed.

After seeing them gone, Naruto powered down his Rasenshuriken and relaxed his stance… Regulus's attack… what was that attack?


	15. Chapter 15

**This chapter has been edit by the same editor, XPartan Caos. All the credits to the editor for grammar, editing, and spelling.**

**Q: P****lease add Sasuke I understand that he should not be here but as in support of Naruto :(**

**A: Yes, I'm planning to add him in this world because already started to make surprise.**

* * *

_"N-Naruto-kun, you're hurt because of me… I'm sorry."_

_"It's alright, Rem, I'm already healed. More importantly, I think Crusch was attacked by these psychos."_

_"What?! That means they…"_

_"Naruto, calm down-"_

_"I can't calm down!" Naruto yelled, shocking the two girls. He quickly realized what he did and sighed tiredly. "Sorry for yelling. You're right. I need to calm down. Focus... I'll summon a clone to go check Crusch's mansion, to see if she's alive."_

Emilia glanced at the direction she thought Naruto and Rem were at. It was that feeling again. She was attempted to just go and meet them, but she wasn't allowed to leave the Sanctuary, making her feel agitated.

She held her hands together, praying their returns safely. Opening her hands, she looked at her crystal necklace in worry, now that Naruto wasn't with her she was finally feeling Puck's absence. She had so much to tell the spirit, she wanted to talk with him about her love relationship with Naruto, the Sanctuary, Roswaal, the Trial and so much more.

"Welcome-What happened to you?"

Emilia heard Ram talking to someone, and went to see what was happening. When she arrived in the living room, she was immediately surprised to see Frederica and Beatrice. Rem was there too, but Naruto… He looked a little singed, just his clothes really, and smelled like coal, like he just finished putting out a campfire.

"Holy shit, man! What's with this smell?! Did you blow up your kitchen?" Garfiel asked before he received a smack on the head. "H-Hey, who the fuck… sister?" His voice dropped when he looked at his sister dressed in a maid uniform.

"Hello, Garf." The blond maid greeted with a lighthearted smile, looking at her little brother. She couldn't hold back her happiness at seeing how much he has grown. "You have grown since we last saw each other."

Garfiel was shocked, he didn't think he would be seeing his sister again. "Hold on! What the fuck is going on?! Why is my sister here?! Why are you all here!" He asked.

"I have the same question. Naruto, why do you smell like coal?" Emilia asked.

"We were attacked by two Sin Archbishops at the mansion." Naruto replied, knowing this will make Emilia worry for him and his companions. She approached him quickly, intent on using her healing magic but he held both of her hands gently. "I'm okay, Emilia. It's just a little scratch."

"What about villagers? Are they okay?" She asked, now worried about her friends at Irlam Village.

"They're fine. I summoned a bunch of my clones to protect them while they head back to the capital, they tried to complain but in the end, they understood that their lives were in danger. It happened too quickly, I didn't know they would come to the mansion, but now that they know that we live there, the mansion is no longer safe."

"But, why did they come to the mansion in the first place?"

"They were there for Naruto, he still has the smell of the Hakugei-kashira." Beatrice said, stepping up in front of Naruto. "Naruto killed the Hakugei so I suspected that the two Sin Archbishops wanted a challenge or revenge."

"They didn't visit the mansion first." Naruto said regretfully. "The Sin Archbishops attacked Crusch and her army when we separated. They thought she was the one who killed Hakugei at first, but figured it was me who killed it."

"Naruto, is Crusch alright?" Emilia asked worriedly, even if Crusch was her main rival for the throne, she wished her no harm.

"I don't know…but I saw Ley, representing Gluttony using Crusch's technique 'Hundred-Man Strike' right in front of me, that's evidence enough to know that something went wrong." The shinobi clenched his fists in anger. People were killed by Ley and Regulus, just because Ley wanted a 'nice meal'? No matter how pacific this world seemed to be, it was just as bad as his. In the end, people just put their needs in front of others without thinking about how much suffering they caused. It made him think, was peace an achievable objective?

This world was truly made to challenge him, not physically, but mentally, his own objectives and experiences were put into question ever since he landed here. Even if he did succeed in bringing the Elemental Nations into a ceasefire, was it going to be eternal? And even if it was eternal, how many worlds existed out there that had problems similar, or worse than his own?

Shaking his head to get rid of the thoughts that had been plaguing his mind for the past few days, he focused on the now. If Petelgeuse was to be believed, the Witch Cult wanted to resurrect Satella, so their main target would logically be Emilia, a silver-haired half-elf. He wouldn't let them get to her, no matter what.

He planned to go to the capital and visit Crusch's mansion to see personally if she's okay after the attack, but leaving his friends in the Sanctuary, where they could be tracked very easily, was not a good idea now that they had a group of powerful people actively tracking him and Emilia down, their friends being an obvious source of information for anyone looking for them, meaning their lives were at risk too.

"Naruto."

A gentle voice reached his ears, making him stop his train of thought. He turned to Emilia who had a worried expression. Naruto gave her a tired smile at her before touching his forehead to hers, taking comfort in her presence.

"I'm okay, Emilia. You don't have to worry about me." He said, watching her face turn red at his teasing tone, knowing she couldn't handle affection in public.

The half-elf just stood there, trying to bring Naruto out of his thoughts. He had been doing this so much lately, just stare into the distance thinking of everything that surrounded him, worrying over two different worlds. She was concerned this would affect him mentally at some point, but she was going to do her best to be there for him.

While the two love birds were in their own world, Frederica was watching the scene with surprise. How could Emilia, a socially handicapped girl, transform into the loving, mature woman she saw before her. Had she really been this blind before? Or had this change been triggered by something else?

"Since when did they get so close?" Frederica asked no one in particular.

"Yesterday, Emilia-sama confessed her feelings to Naruto, and since then they act like this." Ram answered with a bored tone.

Frederica covered her mouth with her hand, she was shocked to learn that Naruto and Emilia became a couple. "Really? Wow." When she worked as a maid, Emilia didn't understand "normal" behavior and she only understood when people bluntly talked to her, leaving nothing for interpretation, but it seemed like time changed people. It was only natural, she thought.

She was excited about the relationship, Naruto was a nice, young man and Emilia was a naive and nice "young" woman, she knew Naruto would protect her from harm and she would complete him in an emotional sense. She couldn't help but ask herself, what would their children look like?

Maybe she was getting ahead of herself.

"Sister…" Garfiel said, sounding worried. He felt a little awkward meeting his sister, who has been gone for a very long time. "Are you okay? Did the Sin Archbishops hurt you at the mansion?"

"No, they didn't hurt me. Don't worry about me… thank you for asking." She replied with a smile.

"Good. That's good. I'm glad you're alright." He nodded as he turned away, not looking at his sister.

Frederica opened her mouth to speak to him but realized he was walking away. She sighed, she understood how much it pained him that she left him and didn't come back. Even if she sent cards occasionally that didn't mean that he didn't feel betrayed.

She was here to right her previous actions and, if lucky, could make Garfiel return to the outside world with her. She just hoped that they could find out where their mother was.

* * *

"I see. Sin archbishops~ came to my mansion and attacked you, I'm glad you're all saaaafe~." Roswaal said, sounding relieved. He looked at Beatrice surprised to see her out of the library. "Beatrice, I'm soooo~ surprised you came here with Naruto-kun."

"I joined him because he freed me-kashira." Beatrice said, crossing her arms."Why are _you _here? Perhaps to see your teacher, Echidna?"

"Teacher?" Emilia wondered as she looked at Roswaal. She didn't know Echidna had an apprentice. "You're Echidna's apprentice?"

"Oh myyyy~. I guess I can't hide my secret anymore~." The clown said, looking at Naruto who had a surprised look on his face. "Naruto-kun, I didn't mean to hide my secret from youuuu~. I couldn't reveal my secret until I could trust youuuu~."

"Don't think about it, you had the right to not tell us your secret, it's still very surprising to know that Echidna had a student." This was actually pretty tame in comparison to what he's been suspecting Roswaal for, Echidna being his teacher was alright, he wouldn't go as far as to say that he trusted her, nor Roswaal for that matter, but this did clear some air of the mystery that surrounded him.

The timeline here made no sense to him, people that should've died at least 400 years ago were still roaming these lands, so it wasn't something totally ridiculous for Roswaal to have a crazy amount of years, just as much as Beatrice or even Emilia. Besides he knew some of Roswaal's history directly from Beatrice's memories, it just caught him off guard since he hadn't gone through them due to the Sin Archbishops attack.

"You're right~ about my secret. It's my right to hide it. However, you all know now." He said, sounding a little annoyed, giving a light glare toward Beatrice, who to the naked eye seemed totally uninterested, but Naruto knew for a fact she was feeling smug about the whole thing, entertained even.

He just chuckled at Beatrice's behavior, it wasn't hard to figure out that she saw Roswaal as a rival for Echidna's love, since they both had a very close bond with her. As he said before, he knew things even Beatrice ignored about herself, it was kind of weird knowing these things, and that Beatrice knew the same amount about him as he knew about her. Whatever, that was the original purpose of Ninshu… He was getting off-topic.

Emilia raised her hand. "If you're Echidna's apprentice, how come her Trial hurt you like that? She should've known it was you." She said, seeing a hole in Roswaal's story.

"It's complicated, Emilia-sama. It wasn't easy to get recognized by the Sanctuary. It's been a long time since I visited my teacher." Roswaal said with a bitter smile.

On a totally unrelated note, now he saw Naruto in another light, he knew the boy was powerful, but to hold off two Archbishops and force them to retreat by himself was a very impressive feat, he could think of very few people alive in this moment that could do similar feats, some of them being the Sword Saint, a full-powered Beatrice, Puck, and Satella herself.

"I'm impressed~ you forced the two Archbishops to retreat. Greed and Gluttony are dangerous~ enemies." He said, looking at Naruto. "You mentioned something about being familiar with a specific move Gluttony, correct?"

Naruto nodded. "Yes, there's no mistake. Gluttony used Crusch's move 'Hundred-Man Strike'. How did he copy such a technique?" He had first-hand experience with copy cats like him, and as unlikely as it was, they could be a very dangerous individual if given the time to improve their abilities.

"Weeeell~, I can explain to you Gluttony's ability. But I must say, you're a very lucky person. His ability is to eat the name and memories of people. Once he eats them, he gains their abilities while erasing the target's memories."

"Naruto, do you think Crusch is…" Emilia said hesitantly, not speaking the last words she feared were, very possibly, true.

"..." Naruto paused when he felt his clone dispel and it's experienced were instantly transferred to him. "Good news and bad news. Crusch is alive, sadly she doesn't remember anything. Not even her own name."

"That's Gluttony's~ ability. Avoid his hands from touching you, otherwise~ he'll eat your memory and take your abilities." Roswaal said.

**"Oh! That explains it."**

Naruto heard a voice resonating within his mind. "_Shukaku? What do you mean?" _He was confused by the one-tailed beast words, as were his siblings.

**"Its nothing really, that boy's left hand reminded me of my curse seals, it's all." The tanuki said, sounding nonchalant about almost allowing Naruto to be brainwashed.**

_"What the hell, Shukaku! You could've saved me with that knowledge! Why didn't you tell me anything sooner?"_

**"I forgot."** A resounding '**You idiot!**' was heard and a loud smack soon followed, he couldn't reprimand Shukaku, his sibling was doing that for him.

**"I'M SORRY."**

"...What about Regulus? Do you know him?"

Roswaal just shook his head. "Never heard of him~, but there was a rumor that the Vollchian City of Garkla was attacked fifteen years ago, before your arrivalll~. Thousands of soldiers died in battle. I can't think of anyone who would do such a thing other than an Archbishop~" He said.

If the rumors were to be believed, Regulus must be very strong for taking down thousands of soldiers. That was fifteen years ago… fascinating… Regulus's power sounded very vast, and who knows how much he could've trained in that amount of time, and how many abilities he acquired over the years.

Ever since he came to this word, no one had proved to be a real challenge, and that wasn't arrogance, it was a fact. Overlooking that time he died due to a combined effort of Roswaal and Satella's surprise attack against him, and himself being overconfident in his victory against the clown, he was never really challenged physically. But for some reason, fighting this man sounded to him like a great way to blow off some steam he had accumulated during his stay in this world, not to mention he deserved to die after killing thousands.

He didn't really plan to die again and he was ever vigilant of the "course" Satella had placed in him, looking for something that could interfere with his regeneration again or anything that could harm him, the Tailed Beasts were monitoring its energy and would act if the situation called for it, it was like having a bomb planted in his chest, but if it were to explode, he could suppress it.

The feeling of the world itself going backward in time and placing him in a time where he wasn't dead was a feeling he didn't like, at all, as a Sage he felt like vomiting that day, that wasn't natural. And even if he's one of the only people to remember what happened, and that time existed no more, he still felt bad for the people that felt pain when he died, even if those feelings never really occurred.

...Maybe he was going insane, either way, it didn't really matter. He had more pressing matters to attend to.

"Naruto-kun?"

A familiar voice snapped him out of his thoughts. "I'm fine, Rem. I'm fine." He said in an effort to comfort her.

* * *

"How is everything, Garfiel?" Frederica asked as she walked with her younger brother in the Sanctuary, they were walking close to the house due to the new threat that they faced, but they still needed some privacy, so they decided to get out of the house, make some distance and finally talk where they could go all out.

The blond boy nodded. "Everything's been alright since you left." He replied.

The tension between brother and sister was really palpable. The situation was very awkward but both knew it was time to end their little fight.

"So, sis… I heard you quit your maid's job some months ago, why are you back to work?" It was Garfiel's turn to speak as he scratched his head, feeling really uncomfortable to speak with his sister face to face after so long.

"Indeed, I quit my job because I was searching for our mother, Garfiel." Frederica said as she looked at him. "Believe me. I know our mother didn't abandon us. She took great care of us and raised us both. I remember that when you cried too much, she was always there to cheer you up."

"I was like five!" Garfiel blushed, this was one of the reasons he hated having a big sister.

An awkward silence followed them for a while, neither really comfortable with each other just yet. Some minutes passed by and Frederica decided to speak up first.

"...Are you ready to forgive our mother?" Frederica asked hesitantly.

"I forgave her a long time ago-" Garfiel gasped when he saw his sister start to cry, tears streaming down her face. "Don't cry! I-I know that mom loved me… that she loved us!"

Back in the house, everyone was watching them have their little heart to heart. Naruto, Emilia, Rem, Ram, and Beatrice were looking at the window with only half of their head visible. They have been watching Garfiel and Frederica's conversation the whole time. They couldn't help it, the curiosity was too much.

Things have been going great between them. They saw Garfiel tried to calm his big sister when she started to cry until she suddenly grabbed him by the leg and slammed him to the ground, everyone was shocked at her sudden action except Lewes and Ram who nodded to Frederica's action, neither liking Garfied's loud and obnoxious personality. Naruto stood up and began walking away.

Emilia noticed him walking so she followed him until both of them reached the forest. "Naruto, where are you going?" She asked.

"I'll go back to the tomb to talk with Echidna, but I'll relax first before going in." He answered as he looked at Emilia. "Wanna walk with me?"

"Of course." The half-elf said, holding his hand, as both of them walked together.

* * *

"How did things go between you and Beatrice? I was surprised she came back with you."

"Well, I told her to stay with me and explore the world instead of staying in the library forever. She accepted and when we were about to head out the Archbishops showed up." Naruto said, sounding serious when he mentioned the Archbishops. He wasn't as worried about Crusch since she was still alive and kicking, but for some reason, her energy felt… blank.

One's Energy Signature, or Aura, as some would call it, was shaped by one's experiences, power, and personality. This way, one could tell if they were lying, if they were good or bad people, one could determine their emotions, and could guess their abilities and how powerful they were just by having a clear feel of it. He knew this because he understood all about Chakra and it's used, granted to him by the Old Man Sage. Magic wasn't so different from Chakra, the only real difference was that Chakra is more potent and Magic is more malleable.

Crusch Energy Signature felt… white. Like unused paper, something that was being rewritten but was yet to be touched. Whatever Ley did to her managed to not only steal her memory but also stole her very being. Whatever made Crusch herself, was no longer there and if she managed to survive her memory loss, she would be someone else entirely.

He was lucky he didn't get his memory eaten by him, damn Shukaku for telling him. Not like it mattered a lot, if his memory was stolen, Ley would be able to do next to do nothing with it, since his Chakra was something biological, meaning Ley wouldn't be able to use his knowledge even if he tried. Besides, he had the Bijuus with him, the chances of Ley being strong enough, mentally, to remove 10 mental barriers as strong as theirs was next to none.

Ley was not the real problem, the kid would be dead if Naruto wanted him dead, Regulus, on the other hand, was a much larger threat.

Naruto remembered he saw Regulus move his hand in the air and suddenly created an invisible blade, using Rem as a distraction and throwing it at him. He was still very lucky however, it seemed like Regulus was more concerned about getting Ley to safety since the blade stopped once the kid was being carried by Regulus, this gave him the ability to physically remove it from his arm before the thing completely pierced him from side to side with no difficulty.

He was also extremely fast, coming very close to his normal speed, and capable of somehow slow him down enough for him to not consider the idea of chasing after them when they escaped. Not only was he fast but he was also resistant enough to withstand a Rasengan, granted, a normal one, and go out unscathed, not even his clothes were wrinkled, while Ley was almost knocked out with a simple kick to the head. If he was going to go against this foe, he had to consider using his strongest attacks and tools.

"Naruto?" Emilia asked worriedly, looking at him as she stopped basically pulling him along. He looked down at her face. "Are you okay? You're spacing out, again."

"I am?" He wondered to himself. "I'm just thinking about the Archbishops, and the threat they pose to you guys." He said to Emilia as he looked at her in worry.

"Naruto, don't worry about me. I'll be fine." She said with a smile, placing her hands on his cheeks. She used her thumbs to grab the edges of his mouth and forced a smile on his face. "See? Everything's fine."

"Thank you, Emilia." He said as he grabbed her hands, he started to sit at the foot a tree and dragged her with him. "But, you can't blame me." Now that they were both in the soft grass, their backs against a tree, he circled his arm around her.

"Eh? I guess you're not wrong, I just… don't want you to worry so much about things that have yet to happen." The half-elf sat next to him, her head on his shoulder.

Time seemed to slow down, they just sat there, in silence, just relishing in one another's presence, knowing that no matter what happened, they were there for each other.

It was almost straight out of a movie, the trees danced slowly in the comforting wind, the forest was illuminated by rays of sunshine that slipped between the leaves of the trees, he had a beautiful woman at his side, just content to be there with him and she had a man holding her, knowing that he would protect her, no matter what.

This beautiful scene reminded Naruto of his home, the fresh air, the good company, the healthy trees, the summer sun. It made him want to return where he belonged, with the girl he wanted to be with. Just to forget about all, and live in a beautiful part of the thick forest that surrounded the village, wasting away their years, possibly even starting a family. He almost fell asleep when this idea brought such joy to his heart, a strange sense of nostalgia hitting him, as if he remembered this happening, but he knew it didn't. That was a nice thought... a beautiful one, actually.

Now that he thought about it, Emilia told him that elves were considered a species that had a deep bond with the forest. Funny how he began a relationship with one, considering that he lived in the Village Hidden in the Leaves, another thing they had in common, he supposed.

He didn't notice at first, but he was beginning to use Beatrice's 'I suppose'. He shuddered, connecting hearts with people really took a toll on someone's mind.

Suddenly, he felt his cheek being poked. He looked at Emilia who was actually pouting at him, it was the first time he saw that happen.

"You're spacing out, again."

A little annoyed at having his daydreaming interrupted he decided to retaliate against the woman with a poke on her ribs, causing her to laugh a little at the quick tickle.

"You jerk! You know that I have ticklish ribs, why are you using a damsel weakness against her? You deviant!" She yelled at him, pointing him with her finger, and giving him a playfully scornful look.

"Cause I'm a jerk. You know me very well, I'm the worst." He replied simply, shrugging his shoulders, a look of amusement on his face.

"Hm... I think that you just like to play with me, you wouldn't do something unspeakable to this maiden in the middle of a forest, with no one who could hear us, right?" She fluttered her eyes at him, and his heart skipped a beat, but his pride wouldn't allow this mockery.

"Wouldn't I? After all, I'm the villain of this short story. Nothing would stand in my way!" Naruto countered with a slightly red face, using a face he saw many of his arrogant enemies use.

"You love me, don't try to act like you would." Emilia said with a playful look.

She released a yelp when Naruto suddenly picked her up and placed her on his lap. She had no time to mock his efforts of looking like a villain when her lips were claimed. She didn't remain inactive and began to kiss back with the same intensity. They remained there, holding each other until they ran out of oxygen.

A little dazed by their… activities, they just remained in that position, panting to replace the oxygen they lost. They looked at one another with barely restrained desire, it was just physical attraction, nothing else, but their hormones were certainly through the roof right now, they better stop before something they could regret happened.

"How about that? You'll have to give up if you want to get out of here unscathed." He said with a triumphant smile, watching her as she turned scarlet.

"I give up! You win!... When our time comes, we can do things like that… But I have to prepare myself first." Emilia said with a deep blush on her face using one hand to push his face away from her and the other to cover her face. After a while, she gathered the courage to give him a quick peck on the lips. "More importantly, you should go to the tomb. You said you need to talk with Echidna."

"Right, I almost forgot about that." Naruto said as he stood up and grabbed her hands to help her up. Both of them continued to walk toward the tomb.

It took them several minutes to arrive but just like the other day the entrance was cold and spooky. Naruto let go of Emilia's hand and began to walk toward the Tomb.

"Wait for me, Emilia. I won't be there for long." He said.

"I know. Be careful." She said.

* * *

Naruto looked around the dark void he had entered and kept walking until the whole place changed into a grass field. He turned around to see the familiar white table and the familiar woman seated there, Echidna, drinking the tea alone.

The Witch of Greed has a surprised look on her face when she saw him. "Welcome back, Naruto. I'm surprised you returned." She said, gesturing her hand to offer him a seat.

The blond shinobi walked toward the table and sat on a chair. "Echidna. Do you know who I was, before coming here?" He asked with a serious look on his face. People related to the Witches were beginning to come up with bullshit abilities, he had to ask if Echidna, the Witch of Greed, she who loved knowledge, knew something about his past life.

"Not really, I've been staying here for a long time. But, I know you're different, otherworldly even." She said.

"Yeah, you can say that I'm from a different world." Naruto said, noticing there was a cup of tea on the table for him. He looked at Echidna who waited for him to drink the tea with her body fluids inside. "I…guess I have to drink it again."

He just drank the whole thing in one go, not thinking anything of the drink, only that it tasted bittersweet, for whatever reason. He gently set the cup down and shuddered at the tingly feeling it gave him. He knew he was basically drinking fluids from a dead person but as all Shinobi knew, information was as deadly as a knife, especially very detailed information, and sacrifices had to be made. Besides, he didn't mind, if Ma couldn't make him barf after some days at Myoboku, nothing could.

"I'm impressed you drank all of it again." Echidna said as she gave a small clap. "You're accepted as head of the tea party, it's my obligation to welcome you! Now, please do ask."

"Hmm…" Naruto had a thoughtful face, trying to find questions he could ask her. "Tell me about the Three Great Demon Beasts?"

"That's easy. They are recognized to be a type of disaster and caused a lot of damage to humanity. Oousagi (Great Rabbit), Kurohebi (Black Serpent), and Hakugei (White Whale). Those three are the Great Demon Beasts, created by Gluttony." Echidna said, listing each Beast with her fingers.

"Oousagi? A rabbit? Really?" Naruto was surprised to hear that a rabbit is one of Three Great Demon Beasts.

"I wouldn't say that the rabbit is just a rabbit. It eats people and it's impossible to kill. I'd love to explain it to you, but it's a long explanation. You'll find out, eventually."

Was it him, or was this world actively trying to get him to use his most powerful tools? First, someone that could withstand a Rasengan without a scratch, then, someone who could literally force others to remake themselves, and now, an unkillable rabbit.

"Naruto?" Echidna asked, waiting for him to ask another question.

"It's nothing." He shook his head. "Echidna, I want to meet the Witch of Gluttony, Daphne."

Echidna's brows furrowed, she was troubled. Her gaze wandered about, eventually landing on Naruto, having trouble speaking. "I really think it's better for you to not meet Daphne."

"You let me meet the witches of Pride, Wrath, and Sloth before, what is so different about her?"

"...Alright. I'll let you meet Daphne."

"Really?"

"Yeah…I guess I can let you…" The witch said, rubbing her cheek lightly with her hand. "But let warn you. Do not unfasten her restraints. And, you can't touch her. And, if somehow her blindfold comes off, do not look at her eyes."

"Got it."

* * *

"This is…" Naruto said, looking at a black coffin with a young girl inside. He saw her eyes were covered with a black blindfold so she can't see.

She seemed around 13 or 14 because of her small body. She was dressed in a pitch-black straitjacket which she wears over white clothing, she also had some chains attached to her arms and legs. So, this little girl must be the Witch of Gluttony. Echidna warned him not to get too close to close.

Naruto was curious why she was chained up and had her eyes covered with a blindfold. "Hello there, my name is Naruto Uzumaki. Echidna sent me here to meet you." He said, though he didn't get a response from her for a few seconds.

"Huh?" He heard moaning from the girl as he approached her, trying to remain as distant as possible. Then, he developed a tick mark on his forehead when he heard a quiet snoring. "You were sleeping?!"

"Hnawhuh!?" The girl was startled by his shout and she looked around fast, despite having a blindfold on. "Wh-What is it? There are people who are… sleeping here…"

"Oh…" He realized she was talking about Sekhmet. "Sorry for yelling."

"It's alright, I'm not mad. Being mad means I'm going to be hungrier. Anyway, who are you?"

"Naruto Uzumaki. I was invited to the tea party by Echidna because she wanted me to meet Camilla, but I told her that I wanted to meet you." Naruto said. "You must be Daphne."

"Wow, so Idna-Idna has friends. Narutooo too, don't you think it's bet-ter to choose your friends wisely? If they hear you are friends with-a-witch, your real friends and family might hate youuu…" Daphne said, starting to run out of breath at the end as her shoulders heaved up and down inside the coffin, blatantly exhausted.

"Hey, why are you so tired?"

"Not really, no? I just get ti-red, easily, or when my stomach's rumbling I have no strength, or… is there, some food, around, any, where…"

"Oh…" Naruto understood, but it just gave him an idea, hopefully, he still has them. He opened his back pouch bag and took out a cup of ramen and the necessary equipment to cook it out of a hidden seal in his pouch. "Could you give me several minutes?"

"S-Sure, I-I can wait…" She said.

After several minutes, Daphne smelled something very yummy. Smelling the yummy food, her stomach began growling and she couldn't help but grow impatient.

"Hurry! Hurry! I smell food!" She said, her shackles tingling due to her excitement.

"Alright, alright." Naruto grinned as he finished cooking his ramen and removed the paper lid, letting the steam fill the air. He grabbed the chopstick, approaching Daphne, amused, but warry of any sudden actions.

"Narutooo, can you wait for a mo-ment?"

"What's up?"

"I need you to know something about me before feeding me. If I smell you, Narutooo, and start thinking I want to eat you more than that food, it'll be a problem, I think."

Naruto blinked his eyes at Daphne's warning, he was sure almost any sane person would turn tail and run but he didn't care, som with a sigh, he kept approaching her. "You are telling the truth, but how am I suppose to feed you with those chains on your arms?" He asked as he stopped in front of the Daphne.

The grey-haired girl was surprised when the human got so close to her and tried to not smell him. "Wait, you don't understand. If you get close to me, I'll eat you-"

"I'm not afraid of you." Naruto said with a smile as he used the chopsticks to pick up the ramen and blow the heat before feeding her. "Say ahh."

Daphne opened her mouth and took a bite of the light-yellow noodles, leaving him with half of the chopsticks, she began to chew it until her mind exploded. "Wow! This is yummy! What is this?! What is this?!" She asked.

"A cup of Ichiraku Ramen, and a little bit of bamboo. You like it?" He asked, pocketing the useless chopsticks and getting out a new pair.

"Yes! Yes! More! Please more!"

So, Naruto kept feeding Daphne until the cup of Ichiraku Ramen was finally empty. It took them several minutes to finish Daphne's meal and she drank all the leftover soup in the cup.

"Yum, yum! That was a very delicious meal! It filled me well!" Daphne said. "You know, this is my first time to get feed by a human."

"Really? I'm glad you liked Ichiraku Ramen, it's a favorite of mine." Naruto smiled as he crushed the cup of ramen and threw it in the bag he had with him. He walked away from her so she won't be able to smell him or eat him since he's too close, and his ramen didn't distract her from just eating his head anymore.

He was glad that she didn't bite him while feeding her so close. He'd have to go to Minerva so she could restore his missing limb by punching him, and he didn't want to be punched, even if it healed him.

"You're not…afraid of me after I warned you. You just walked in front of me and feed me… That's weird… I could've eaten you if you came too close to me." Daphne said, sounding confused, since she couldn't show her expression with a blindfold, she reflected her emotions on her tone. "Who are you? You… You're not like the other humans." Her voice tone sounded curious and serious, not sounding tired anymore.

"Naruto Uzumaki. Echidna sent me here to meet you. And I met the other three witches before I met you, Camilla is the next one I'm meeting." He said. "By the way… I wanna ask you something… Are you the one who created Three Great Demon Beasts?"

"Yes, yes. I'm the one who created the Demon Beasts."

…

…

Well, this is awkward. He wondered if she would be mad at him for killing what was basically her child, even if she was dead.

He was going to open his mouth before the whole place changed and Daphne was now gone. Since the place changed, he should meet the last witch.

"Now, where's the last-Emilia?" Naruto was surprised when he found Emilia in Echidna's dream world. There was no mistake… she had pointed ears and silver hair, but something seems off to him, her expression was very different from Emilia's.

"Huh?... Yes! It's me, Emilia."

"Emilia is outside, I told her to wait for me. She wouldn't break my request just because she felt like it, she's not that kind of the person." Naruto knew her well enough to notice the obvious differences.

Right before him, her form blurred, Emilia's visage turns hazy, and in the blink of an eye, she was a whole new person. He was surprised when he saw a girl about his age. Her pink hair stretches halfway down her back.

She wore a muffler wrapped around her neck, it's long enough to touch the ground. She wore a long-sleeved white outfit, her hands not peeking out the ends as she puts her palms to her cheeks, looking at Naruto nervously.

"Who are you?" Naruto asked, his eyes narrowed.

"I-I'm the Witch of Lust... Camilla. Ni... nice to… meet you... mm." The pink-haired girl said nervously, looking at the blond. "Uhh… I-I'm sorry…for…" This poor girl was a wreck of nerves, it made him feel guilty and he hasn't done anything!

"Hey, hey. That's alright, I was surprised by your appearance, that was all." Naruto said. "My name is Naruto Uzumaki. I came here to meet you."

"I-I wasn't... transforming... though. I-If I look... looked like, someone else then... that's b-beca... because, you wanted to see... that... yeah?" She asked.

"I see. That makes sense." He nodded, noticing Camilla's trembling body. "Are you scared?"

"I...I am… It has… It has been a long time since I talked with a human… I-I get scared easily…" Camilla said as she saw Naruto raise his arm, she reacted quickly, she automatically dropped to her knees and covered her head with her arms. "D-Don't hit me… I-I'm…sorry?" She was confused when she saw his hand not moving in front of her.

"Why would I hit an innocent girl? I just want to shake your hand." Naruto said with a smile, waiting for her to correspond his handshake.

Camilla was confused since she thought he was going to hit her, but he wasn't. So with hesitance, she slowly took his hand and shook it gently until she felt calm and comfortable with him.

"See? It's not bad-dattebayo!" Naruto smiled at the pink-haired witch, causing her to blush.

"Y-Yeah…" She said softly as she broke a smile and kept shaking his hand. She felt strangely comfortable holding his hand.

"Your smile is pretty. I always thought that witches never smiled, but you're the 3rd witch who has shown me the truth." Naruto said.

"R-Really… I am… I see. You met the other witches." Camilla said with a blush, sounding a bit better. "W-Well… it's very nice to meet… a nice human right here in front of me. I… I never met nice people in my life."

"Ahh, I see. That's why you were scared."

"I-I'm sorry for being scared of you…"

"Hey, hey! It's alright! Some people have horrible pasts. I understand that."

"N-No… I'm really sorry for transforming into Emilia…"

"Like I just said, it's alright. Come to think of it, how did you do know her name? You even got her appearance."

"W-Well I told you about m-my ability… I-I'm impressed you caught me so quickly… I-I didn't know about Emilia…until Echidna told me to do that to you."

Naruto blinked his eyes in confusion, Echidna told her to do that? "She told you to?" He asked

* * *

"Oh! You came back." Echidna said, clapping her hands happily when she saw Naruto return from meeting the two witches. However, his expression was serious.

The blond shinobi was silent until he sat down on his temporary chair and looked at Echidna. "It's about Camilla. Why did you do it?" He asked.

"You said you wanted to meet Camilla and Daphne, am I right?"

"Yes, that's what I wanted, but Camilla told me that you lied to her and you even told her to put some kind of illusion or transformation. You told her to put on Emilia's appearance to trick me or something. Why?"

"Well…I thought she could make you angry at the half-elf's appearance so you can see her. Come to think of it, I'm impressed you found out so quick."

"Not that I hate her, but I love mocking her, seeing how weak she was to face her past. That is, until you joined and handled the half of it." Echidna said, sounding disappointed, her expression is emotionless. "Oh, are you coming back to the first Trial to face your past? You have a strong will to pass it."

Naruto shook his head and remembered Emilia wanted to try it again. "No, I won't take your first Trial. Emilia will and she will pass the three of Trials with her strength. Just wait, you'll regret your misjudgment about her." He said.

"Seriously? Her again? You know she won't pass the first Trial. You saw what happened to her after you two made it out from the first Trial." Echidna said sounding nonsensical.

"I know she won't pass it in the first try, but she's going try and try again until she passes the Trial." Naruto said, still believing Emilia can pass the Trial. She may not as strong as him, but she has the potential and the will to pass the first Trial. "Hey, do you remember Beatrice?"

"Yes, I do." Echidna said, looking at Naruto, a little weird the sudden shift in their conversation."I was deeply involved in the process of her creation. Did something happen to her?"

"I freed her." Naruto said.

Echidna was certainly surprised about that, since, as far as she knew, Beatrice was going to stay in the Archives. She instructed Beatrice to wait for her in the Forbidden Library, to guard it before she died by the Witch of Envy.

"So, you freed her… How does it feel like, having her around you?" She asked.

"She's fine with me." He said. "By the way, do you know Roswaal L. Mathers? I know I'm changing subjects fast, just bear with me, alright?"

"Very well. Did you just say, Roswaal?" Echidna asked.

"Yeah, Roswaal L. Mathers. If I'm correct about his story, he was your apprentice."

"Yes, he was my apprentice 400 years ago. I didn't expect he would tell you his secrets and about me, this day is certainly full of surprises. How was he?"

"Well…your Trial kinda hurt him pretty bad so…" He said awkwardly, not trying to drop the blame on Echidna for hurting her apprentice. Well, Roswaal did say "it was complicated". "Anyways, you need to tell me about your apprentice. I've been having this weird feeling since day one, I don't seem to be able to trust him. "

Echidna narrowed her eyes in surprise at his thoughts about Roswaal. "The character I know as Roswaal had just a tiny bit of an excessively focused disposition. He'd be well prone to offering up everything for a given goal. So then, if he hadn't changed at all after my death... What do you blame him for?" She asked.

"You see… the reason why I don't trust him is because I believe he hired an assassin to assassinate Emilia when I first came here. I saved Emilia's life from the assassin and some clues made me think that Roswaal is responsible for this. He also seems to be at the right place, at the right moment." Naruto meant Rem, Ram and Emilia's similarities in their stories, Roswaal was always there where things went bad.

Echidna had a thoughtful look on her face, thinking about Roswaal's actions. If her apprentice hasn't changed after her death, it seems like he's planning something. She thought of Roswaal's bond with her, he's very respectful and loyal to her because she's the teacher who taught him to use magic. But, something was amiss here.

"Naruto, may I ask you what his purpose is?" Echidna asked,

"His purpose is to serve Emilia, get her to the throne, and help her to get the dragon's blood."

"Volcanica."

"What?"

"Volcanica is the dragon that aided in the sealing of the Witch of Envy 400 years ago. He's the guardian of the Kingdom of Lugnica. I believe Roswaal's goal is getting Volcanica's blood to resurrect me."

…

…

"WHAT?!"

* * *

**Uhh... This is little awkward for me to ask you people. Is R****egulus really strong? Because I read the Wiki that he killed Reinhard by using stopped time and hard to kill what it says. According to Wiki, if Subaru wasn't present in Arc 5, Reinhard would not be able to defeat ****R****egulus****.**

**I am planning to make Naruto vs. Regulus. Just two of them when they meet again in Arc 5.**


	16. Chapter 16

Rem walked through the forest in the last direction she saw Emilia and Naruto head off to. She had some free time after helping her sister change Roswaal's bandages. She walked until she found Emilia sitting on the ground with Naruto's head on her lap.

She approached the two with caution, being mindful of the fact that she was approaching a warrior and a mage. "Emilia-sama, why are two here? It's dangerous at the moment." She asked genuinely curious, as far as they knew these two just decided to head into the forest without an explanation.

"I'm sorry for worrying you, but he's exhausted after meeting Echidna, so we're taking a little break." The half-elf said as she stroked his hair. "Rem, why don't you sit with me? We haven't talked in a while."

"As you wish, Emilia-sama." The blue-haired maid accepted as she sat next to her, looking at Naruto. She smiled at him because his face is so cute, almost like a looking cute fox. "How long has he been sleeping?"

"An hour and a half. I was the one that asked him to sleep for a while, he's been very stressed recently." Emilia said with a smile. "Naruto… is working hard for us without taking a break. That's part of the reason I wanted to take the Trial again, this time without fail." She looked at Rem.

"What is it, Emilia-sama?" The blue-haired maid asked, feeling like Emilia had a question for her.

"What do you think of Naruto? To me, he's nice, silly, and stubborn. He's been through a lot and he deserves a break. That's what I think of him." The half-elf said, noticing Rem staring at Naruto, specifically, his whiskers. "You can touch them, I don't mind. Perhaps it'll give him sweet dreams."

Rem looked at Emilia with a surprised look until she nodded and began to stroke Naruto's hair with her hand. "Naruto-kun is the most kind person I ever met in my life. I first thought he's a stranger and spy of the Witch Cult because he played you with a heart. Until then, I was wrong about him." She remembered the one time Naruto came back for her and saved her life from demon beasts.

Not only did he just save her, but he also stopped her in oni mode which she got berserk to kill demon beasts. Naruto didn't run away to save his life. He risked his life to save her from her oni mode and demon beasts. She always wanted to work hard until Naruto comforted her about life. His voice opened her eyes to see the light and melt her heart from freezing.

Little by little she started to fall in love with him, his personality attracted her somehow and she couldn't help herself. But by the time she realized her feelings the attraction Naruto and Emilia felt for one another was obvious to all except one another. She decided to wait and see if they fell in love with one another, and it turned out their feelings were mutual.

"Naruto-kun is a hero of Konoha for what you said and what people said. He worked too hard and risked his life to save his world from evil. That's why I like him because he's the one who can save our world. He's the one who changed me and changed you, Emilia-sama" She said as she looked at the half-elf. "Emilia-sama, I believe you and Naruto can change the future, together… I want to get something out of my chest."

"Talk with me? What do you mean?" The half-elf asked, listening words from Rem carefully as she began to speak.

"Emilia-sama, I fell in love with Naruto." Rem confessed as she looked at Naruto, stroking his cheek gently. After she confessed, she saw Emilia's shocking face as she looked at her. "I love him too. From the bottom of my heart, I love Naruto because he's my savior who saved me from the darkness. A savior appeared in the great darkness to protect us from evil. But I know you are the best for him.""

Emilia's eyes softened in empathy, she wasn't aware of her friend's feelings. For how long had she felt this way? "Me?" She wondered why she thought that.

"I'm afraid I'll never be able to understand the pain you two went through. Both of you two have faced pain, hate, and hardships that I might not be able to heal if we entered in a relationship." Rem said as she stopped stroking and grabbed Emilia's hand. She then grabbed Naruto's hand and used Emilia's hand to hold each other. "Emilia, can you make a promise for me?"

"What is it?" She asked.

"Promise me you'll make him happy. Never leave his side so you two can be together. I'm sure you two are destined to greatness, It'll be an honor to serve you then, just as I do now." Rem smiled bowing her head to Emilia.

Emilia, still holding Rem's hand, was left speechless by the maid. She decided that she didn't like that she did that, worse at this moment when it was just them. She lightly lifted Rem's head with her fingers and smiled at her. "Rem, I'm impressed by this devotion you show, but please, don't bow to me when we're alone. I've come to a decision."

"Thank you, Emilia-sama. Please, let me hear your decision."

"I promise." Emilia accepted, making Rem smile brightly. They jumped slightly when they heard Naruto groan. His eyes opened slowly, meeting Emilia's gaze. "Good evening, Naruto."

"Hey… Are we outside of the tomb?" He noticed the dense forest surrounding them and felt the wind. "Did I fall again?"

"You don't have to worry about that again. Your head is on my lap. It isn't uncomfortable, is it?" She asked with a smile.

"Are you kidding? More like divine pillow dattabayo!" Naruto said, hearing his girlfriend's giggle until he saw Rem is here with her the whole time. "Rem? What are you doing here? Did something happen?"

"Nothing happened, Naruto-kun." The blue-haired maid said, shaking her head gently as she stopped and looked at him. "How was your feeling?"

"I'm fine, Rem. By the way, I was surprised to see you come here to see me. Did you girls talk while I'm sleeping?"

"We did." Emilia said as she and Rem giggled at each other. "We were just talking about how cute your face is. We couldn't help it but touching your cute whiskers on your cheeks."

"Do I?" Naruto wondered, lightly rubbing his cheeks as he looked at Rem. "Really?"

"Yes, Naruto-kun. I touched your whiskers because they're too cute." Rem said with a smile, seeing Naruto's cheeks turn red, no doubt embarrassed.

This made both women giggle, neither willing to comment on what they had just talked about. Naruto is blushed, looking at the two beautiful girls who had smiles on their faces. He rubbed his cheek gently with his finger as he got up from Emilia's laps. Then, both of the three silly people smiled at each other.

* * *

Several hours later, Naruto and his friends gathered at the tomb, it was night once more and Emilia was practically brimming with determination.

"Are you sure you can do this?" Naruto asked, looking at Emilia who was, once more, ready to take the first Trial.

The silver-haired girl nodded, she stepped forward with a fierce decision. "Yes, I can. I won't fail the Trial this time." She said as she grabbed his hand and held his pinky finger with hers, reminding him of their promise.

Seeing Emilia's smile to Naruto, Naruto couldn't stop it but had to smile at her. Emilia's smile is too pure and beautiful. He wanted to do the Trial for Emilia, but she refused his help and wanted to have a second chance. This girl could do at this time and show the world that she could lift the curse. Naruto believed in her, and she could be the best ruler. If Emilia wanted to be the next King, she needed to do this.

Before Emilia is going in, her arm was grabbed by Naruto's hand as he turned her around to face him. He leaned in forward and captured her lips into a sweet kiss, holding her cheek with his hand. Emilia's eyes widened before she relaxed as she kissed him back, not afraid of being watched. After they pulled away, the silver-haired girl held his hand and placed it on her cheek to feel his warmth. Her eyes were closed, gaining the courage from him.

"Remember, Emilia. The hairpin I brought for you… I will always be in your heart." Naruto said as the half-elf nodded to him and began to walk in the tomb.

She glanced back to him and smiled at him one more time to assure him she'll be fine and win the first Trial. She now went inside the tomb, and the doors closed behind her.

Rem watched Emilia walk inside the tomb and looked at Naruto, who looked a little worried, no doubt thinking about the worst. She touched his arm to make him look at her and offered him a comforting smile.

"Are you okay, Naruto-kun?" She asked.

"I'm okay, Rem. Thank you for asking me, but I know Emilia will pass this trial, so there's nothing to worry about." Naruto knew Emilia was capable of doing this. She now carried not only her determination but that of everyone in the Sanctuary, those who wanted freedom. Hopefully, she could take strength from their plight.

"Speaking of worries, I don't see Lewes. Where is she?" Frederica described Lewes desire to remain in the Sanctuary, so the fact that she wasn't on sight while someone was trying to break the barrier that kept people here was worrying.

"Allow me." Beatrice answered quickly. She started to drag him by his sleeve toward a seemingly random direction. "Follow me. I'm taking you to see Lewes, Emilia is going to remain there for a while, so why not use the time we have on something important-kashira."

Naruto understood Beatrice's reasoning but his worry for Emilia was great. He grabbed Beatrice's hand and sent her a questioning look, knowing she was going to understand his desire to remain by the Tomb in case anything happened. As expected she understood and sighed.

Seeing him torn between both options Rem decided to intervene. "You can go, Naruto-kun. I'll stay here and wait for Emilia-sama." She said, trying to reassure him.

Naruto hesitated for a second but nodded to her, he began to follow Beatrice to the forest. The blond shinobi looked at his surroundings, wondering where Beatrice was taking him. He had been once or twice in this forest and he had never seen some of the trees they were slowly passing. Beatrice was jogging at this point and they were pretty far from the village already.

They finally came out of the forest to a little clear. He noted with minor curiosity that there were signs of someone having come here recently, that and a structure.

It was a dilapidated stone building on the verge of collapse, deep in the forest, it was constructed with its back against a crag. They approached the building, giving it's exterior a confirmatory glance.

"Beatrice, what is this place?" He asked. He knew this place from Beatrice's memories, but he paid it no mind, not deeming it important when he was quickly looking through them.

Beatrice stopped and turned around to face him. "Before we enter the building, you have to promise me you'll tell no one about this, not even Emilia. Lewes trusted you." She said with a serious tone, she needed to hear him say it since once the promise was made, he wouldn't break it.

"I promise, Beatrice." Naruto nodded as he was the first one to open the door by turning the doorknob. Surprisingly, the door opened with silence. "Beatrice, since where did you find this building?"

"When I came here with you, Lewes and I talked. The second time you met with Echidna, Lewes told me of this place and said she wanted to meet you. She wanted to chat, just between you and her, but I'm staying with you. Just in case she tries anything."

"I see. You and Lewes must be close together before Echidna told you to stay in the library."

"Indeed... It's been a while since I had a chance to see Lewes."

Passing through the waiting room, Naruto and Beatrice headed for the main room. They reached for the door at the end of the hallway, they were surprised when the old-looking door didn't just crumble when he opened it.

They slowly went inside the room, watching out for any danger. The inside of the room, unlike the rest of the building, seemed taken care of, not surprising seeing as the only thing in this room was a large, light blue crystal and if he squeezed his eyes he could see a silhouette at the inside of it. He inched toward it and was surprised by what it seemed to be protecting. A female with long, pink hair, she was dressed in very familiar garments and had a very familiar face.

It was Lewes.

"What the…" The blond shinobi said with a low voice, he had seen a lot of techniques and rituals in his world but this was one he wasn't familiar with. He gently touched the crystal to confirm that this was indeed Lewes, only to retrieve his hand when he found out that she was still alive, but she was, however, in some kind of stasis. Everything pointed at the fact that this was the real Lewes, but something was amiss. "She's alive…but that's not the Lewes I know… right?"

"That's Lewes. The original Lewes." Beatrice answered, some fondness in her tone. "Around 400 years ago, she agreed to participate in Echidna's experiments, resulting in the creation of clones as a part of a project to create eternal life."

Naruto nodded in understanding, after all, he used clones himself, and if he were able to use true clones, he would certainly be tempted to use them for experiments… He shivered, that sounded too much like Orochimaru. The man would certainly love such a technique.

"Wait a second… Lewes that I met was a clone?" He asked.

"Yes, Naruto. Lewes you met her is a clone."

"But why is the original Lewes in this crystal? What's Echidna's purpose with these clones?" He had to go through Beatrice's memories, it would certainly make things easier… But what would be the fun in that?

"Allow me to explain." The familiar voice of Lewes said. The two turned around to see the pink-haired girl. "Naruto, the reason I brought you here is because I sensed Echidna's trust in you. So, knowing she trusts you, I trust you as well."

"… Very well, I'll believe you, for now. But you still need to explain some things to me."

"That's why I'm here. But I don't want anyone to know of this location, so, please follow me."

Lewes led them outside the lone structure and began to go back to the Sanctuary, he guessed that she wanted them to see the crystal to prove a point.

Before Naruto exited the building, he glanced back toward the room the crystal was in, his eyes became yellow for a second only to change back just as fast. It was official, this world had no one truly able to sense energy.

He now knew the secret to the barrier, but he would do nothing about it for now, if only because he didn't how would the original body would react to the crystal shattering. He guessed this was just a backup plan… for now.

* * *

After discovering Lewes's original body, Lewes led Naruto and Beatrice back to the Sanctuary and went inside an isolated house where they could chat in private.

"Just seat on the bed there. I'll go get drinks for us. Naruto, you don't drink tea, so I can only offer you some water, is that okay?" Lewes said.

"Yes, a cup of water is fine with me." Naruto said, his voice a little nervous due to his current situation.

Beatrice sat on his lap, seemingly unbothered by this simple fact, a fact that he tried to ignore. He wasn't nervous about the fact that he had a little girl on his lap, but he was a little bothered that Beatrice was sitting there. It was very easy to forget that she was a fully grown woman, hundreds of years older than him.

"Beatrice, not that I mind but, do you have to sit there?" Naruto asked

"I don't… it's just…" Beatrice grabbed his hand with her smaller ones and held it. She felt…comfortable with him. "It's just… you have such a strong presence. No wonder the Tailed Beasts trust you so much. It makes me wonder…if you leave this world behind… leave me behind." She knew that he'd been fighting with himself over the fact of which world to stay in, if he could leave at all. His memories were far easier to absorb for her, since, from her perspective, Naruto had been alive for so little time, while he had to absorb hundreds of years of knowledge, not only from her, but from Echidna's books as well.

Naruto's eyes were immediately filled with comprehension and he couldn't help but gently stroke her head with his free hand, this melted her will in a second and she began to relax on his lap. It was only natural that Beatrice, someone who had been denied all forms of love, would hold on to him, the only one in hundreds of years who seemed to give a damn about her and treated her with care. It was heartbreaking how much he could see himself in this being, different as they may be. "Hey, everything is going to be fine. You know I will find a way to get back here." He smiled, trying to cheer her up. He saw Beatrice smile but he couldn't pretend this filled him with relief, that was a smile plagued with doubt, a doubt born from knowledge and emotion.

But as much as he would love to prove her wrong, he had no idea if he could even get out of here, let alone come back. He would sure as hell try if it ever came to it, but, would he achieve it?

The amount of knowledge he would have to absorb to even attempt to open a dimensional rift would be so ridiculous that he doubted even his father, a prodigy in the sealing arts, would be able to. He couldn't rely on Sasuke and his Rinnengan either, since there were infinite worlds out there, the chances of him finding him were slim, and them coming back would probably be difficult. He had been discussing this with the Tailed Beast since day one, and more doubts than answers were thrown around as to how to proceed.

The topic of interdimensional travel was a pretty complex one, go figure.

Honestly, now that he had Beatrice, Emilia, and the rest of their friends, he didn't want to go back, definitely visit from time to time, but he had people here that he didn't want to leave behind.

His thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the sound of the door opening.

"I'm back with drinks." Lewes came back holding a tray with drinks as she closed the door behind her. She placed two cups for Naruto and Beatrice and sat down on the chair and drank her tea. "Now we can talk."

"About that girl in crystal… Beatrice told me that was you, or rather, the original you. What I know is that Lewes agreed to participate in Echidna's experiment. But what I don't understand is if you created the clones?" Naruto asked. Lewes shook her head.

"Oh no! The clones were created by Echidna in an experiment. She copied my memories and knowledge and shoved them into the clones; however, her experiment was never completed because she was killed by the Witch of Envy." Lewes said.

"So, that's why." Naruto understood why the original Lewes is in blue crystal and never came out. Echidna is the only one who can complete it but she got killed by the Witch of Envy. "Come to think of it, are they more of you?"

"Very much. There are more of us but they're different. Each of them has a different personality."

Naruto was a little surprised to learn that there's more Lewes in the Sanctuary, though he wasn't as surprised as he could've been, as he used the same technique from time to time.

While he knew that multiple Lewes were walking around in the Sanctuary, he was still a little surprised when a second Lewes came into the room. Even though they looked the same, the new Lewes reminded him of a baby, her energy felt blank, like that of an infant.

The clone slipped on the bed without so much as a word and crawled toward him, she then wrapped her arms around his free arm. Naruto looked at her; her face had no trace of emotion, almost as if she's empty.

"That's Pico. When you touched Lewes Meyer's crystal, the command right got converted and overwritten to you." Lewes said.

Naruto blinked his eyes and he looked at Pico who held his arm. "Uhh… Pico, can you let go of my arm?" He asked politely, he was a little surprised that she listened to him since he didn't know she even understood him. "What do you need them for? What happened to this place after Echidna's death?"

"When Echidna was killed, the Mathers family took over and have been in charge for a very long time. I am aware that they had an… almost a friendship with Echidna. This contract is still valid today and now Roswaal L. Mather is managing the Sanctuary. That being said, all he's been doing is circulating some goods through here so the place doesn't go into ruin, and he occasionally brings along kids in circumstances appropriate for the Sanctuary as new residents."

"I'm kinda confused, but from what you've told me I now understand a lot more of this place." Naruto said. He heard that part about basically kidnapping children to live here against their will, and while his old self would've immediately shouted in outrage, his present self was not going to say anything about it since they were already working to break the barrier keeping everyone captive. "But, why are you telling me all this?"

"Well, Echidna trusted you, Beatrice, her creation, trusts you and I see no reason why I shouldn't trust this information to you. You have a strong will that could certainly help this place if used right." Lewes said as she stood up from the chair and approached him. "Naruto, do you mind if I… this could sound bold of me but, can I please touch your hand. Please don't misunderstand, I just want to see your magic, and for that I need physical contact."

Naruto was confused for a second before nodding, he was still getting accustomed to calling his chakra, "magic". "Okay, but be careful about seeing my magic and the Bijuus. I can enter my mind to guide you. Beatrice, do you wanna see them?" He looked at Beatrice who just had a surprised look.

Beatrice nodded as she got off the bed and changed her grip on his hand for a more comfortable one, while she knew of them she didn't know them personally. When their hand united both girls saw their surroundings instantly be replaced by a very dark, massive room.

There was silence for some time, only some drops of water were heard in what appeared to be an empty room, this unnerved the girls, but they sure preferred that to the grumbling they heard next. Nine entities dramatically rose to their full height, somehow remaining out of their view before then, each one was certainly different from the one next to them. There was one noticeably bigger than the others, though the others still looked humongous and dangerous in their way.

"Are they the ones you mentioned?" Beatrice asked with a surprised face, looking at the beasts. There was no comparison between memories and experiences.

"Incredible… They're strong." Lewes said, surprised.

Naruto smirked at them as he turned around to greet the girls. "Beatrice, Lewes, I want you to meet my friends."

* * *

Naruto and Beatrice slowly made their way back to the Tomb, their little reunion with Lewes finally over. It was very educational for them both, and Beatrice looked in high spirits. Seeing someone from her past sure seemed to lighten her mood.

Naruto, being the person he was, was very worried about Emilia's test and decided that they should walk back to the Tomb to see how the half-elf was doing.

They finally had a clear view of the Tomb's entrance when they got out of the forest. They could easily see Rem waiting for Emilia to get out.

As they got closer to the maid, the doors suddenly opened and a tired Emilia got out, she seemed ready to just fall at any time. This made Naruto dash toward her to prevent her from injuring herself. He caught her when she was about to fall on her face, she was exhausted, her breath was ragged and forceful.

"Are you okay, Emilia?" The blond shinobi worried.

The silver-haired girl tried to open her eyes to look at him but her body didn't seem to respond to her at the moment. "I'm okay… Naruto I… I did it… I passed the first Trial…" She smiled tiredly, proud of her accomplishment.

Naruto leaned in forward and kissed on her forehead softly. "I'm proud of you, Emilia. I knew you can do it. But…are you really okay? You saw everything in your past." He said as Emilia nodded to him.

"I saw everything that happened, but I'm okay. Thank you for everything, Naruto. And I mean everything." She said, placing her hands on his chest as she leaned in forward against his chest. She heard strong and steady from his heart. "I like your heart because it's strong and steady."

"Oh wow. Your cute face makes my heart pounding. Maybe, I should do that to your heart." His serious face changed into a thoughtful one. He, of course, knew what she was talking about but he decided to joke a little to ease her mood.

"I'm being serious, silly." She let out a small giggle. It concerned him that even that seemed to tire her, but it was nothing a good night of sleep couldn't fix. "I'm tired… Naruto... can you sleep with me…again?" She didn't wait for his answer because sleep claimed her once she stopped talking.

"Of course, my lady." Naruto said before he watched her go to sleep already, a fast asleep after she finished the first Trial. He couldn't stop smiling at her for passing the first Trial on herself.

Emilia passed the first Trial, but she'll have to face the second one tomorrow and the last one after she beats the second Trial. To save Emilia, Naruto would do the rest of them for her because he could pass all of them. Who knows what kind was it would Emilia face because the second and third would be different. It's not like the first one.

Anyways, Naruto waited for too long and didn't want to be near the tomb. He began to head back the Sanctuary while carrying Emilia in his arms. The silver-haired girl snuggled in his chest, bringing a pure smile as she had a good dream.

* * *

The next morning, Naruto was the first person who was awake and went outside. He wanted to relax with the sun and the cold temperature he likes. So, he woke up very early like 6 or 7 A.M.

The reason why he woke up early was because he wanted to make sure Sanctuary is safe. To be honest, Naruto just wanted to go outside to relax.

"Morning, Naruto-kun."

He was a little surprised to hear another person already up at this hour. "Morning, Rem. Why are you up so early?" He asked

"I'm a maid, we have to wake up early to complete the daily work… at least we had to." The blue-haired maid said as Naruto motioned for her to sit next to him. She sat and there was silence for a few minutes, both just enjoying the atmosphere.

"You know. You look pretty good for someone who just woke up." The unexpected compliment made Rem blush lightly, that compliment came out of nowhere, she guessed he wasn't as awake as he seemed to be.

Naruto chuckled at her reaction, it sure was entertaining to see someone react to compliments. Besides he wanted revenge after they made him blush by complimenting his whiskers. His light laughs slowly turned into a bitter smile. Seeing Rem made him remember his confrontation with the archbishops, and the people they attacked before them.

Rem saw this and immediately figured something was wrong. "Naruto, is everything okay?" She asked.

"... I should've known… I should have known that Crusch was attacked by the Sin Archbishops. Damn it…" Naruto said, clenching his fist with anger. He knew that blaming himself for Crushc's "death" was foolish of him but he couldn't help it, he knew he could've done something about it if he was there at the time.

Rem was worried, really worried. She understood his anger and his hatred for the Sin Archbishops. Both, Naruto and Emilia, had a healthy respect for Crusch so hearing of someone attacking her was not a welcomed surprise for them. That's why Rem grabbed his hand because she didn't want him to get so angry and even Emilia wouldn't want to see him too. Emilia would stop him from getting angry no matter what.

If there was something Rem feared was harming her loved ones in her bloodlust, at least she did until Naruto came by, swiftly ending demented state. But that was the thing, if Naruto was ever filled with too much hate against these beings, the consequences could befall upon, not only the Archbishops but themselves too.

Rem and Emilia wouldn't want Naruto to kill the Sin Archbishops with his power of rage and hatred. Rem remembered he told her that he lost control when he saw his friends die. She could imagine if she dies, Naruto would have gone berserk and kill his enemy. For sure, he told Emilia already and she would do anything to stop him from losing his control.

With Rem's luck, she's able to calm him down. "Please don't blame yourself, Naruto-kun. Emilia wouldn't want this… I wouldn't want this…" She said, holding his hand tightly.

"I…I'm sorry for letting my anger get over my mind." Naruto said softly as he showed his warm smile to assure her that he's not angry. "And thank you, Rem. I believe your cute face stopped me from getting angry."

Rem giggled at his humor as she got her nose pokes by his finger. "Naruto-kun is too silly." She said with a smile.

"Of course, I'm always silly person dattabayo!" Naruto smiled before he noticed Rem's hands were cold. So, he began to hold her hands together with his both hands and warmed them with his warmth.

Rem blushed when she saw him grab her hands, and his hands warmed her hands. Though, she admitted they are so warm and wanted him to hold her hands like that when she gets cold.

"Rem."

"Yes?"

"I don't know what the future is going to bring us, but I promise I'll try to make you happy, gosh I'm such a stupid guy…"

"Naruto-kun, you already made promises to me. And besides, Emilia told me I could trust you with her."

Naruto took a moment to truly understand what Rem just told him, and when he did he was shocked. "R-Really? W-When?" He asked.

"It was yesterday, while you were sleeping we were talking about you. Emilia-sama was surprised and I explained to her what happened. Don't worry about it; she's isn't mad."

"Oh…" Naruto surprised with a blush as he gave himself a slight scratch on his cheek. He felt a little awkward when Rem told Emilia that she's in love with him already… and Rem kissed him. "Okay… I guess she's okay with that. Well… I hope my mom doesn't find out about that…" He mumbled at the end of the sentence.

"Did you say something?" Rem asked.

"Nothing! Nothing!" Naruto smiled, he was sweating a little and giving her two thumbs up. "Anyways, what happened next?". "Anyways, what else did you guys talk about?"

"Well, we were just talking and talking until you woke up from Emilia-sama's laps. Nothing important. Talking about you and that's all." Rem said with a smile as she leaned against his shoulder, holding his hand with her hands. "Thank you, Naruto-kun."

"For what?"

"For everything."

* * *

"So how's everything going?" Naruto asked Frederica.

"Everything is great so far. I'm happy to see Garfiel and the sights aren't that bad." The blond maid said, drinking a cup of tea. "Thank you for everything, Naruto. I…I wasn't sure if I wanted to come here but you convinced me, and for that, I'm grateful." She was truly in debt with this man.

"Hey, hey! It's what I do to make people feel better! There's no need for you to do that dattabayo." Naruto's still not used to someone bowing to him from Frederica.

This is getting embarrassed by her for bowing to him. Frederica's bond with him grows so quick and she remains loyal to him. Man… she's a very trusty and respectful woman in Roswaal's maid but now she trusts Naruto instead of him.

Well, he did tell her that he will find her mother by using Sennin mode to sense her mana or aura if she has magic. Maybe, that's why she became like that and showed respect to him.

"Changing the subject, how'd it happen? You and Emilia becoming a couple."

"We became a couple 2 days ago, it wasn't anything super romantic, I guess we just… clicked." Naruto said as he scratched the back of his head. "I'm guessing Emilia told you about us."

"It was Rem who told me about you two, but I asked Emilia the next day. She seems happy with your relationship, as happy as she can be considering you've been together for two days."

"Yeah, I am too." Naruto said with a lighthearted smile, remembering how happy the half-elf looked these days, as opposed to her insecure self. Her smile is too pure and cute that can make him feel better.

Believe it, Emilia has a beautiful smile in the world, and screws those men that don't know how to treat her property. They're stupid to hate her just because she's a half-elf and appearance like Satella. If Naruto was here and heard them, he would kick their asses whenever they tried to insult her. He was being for real and he will kick their asses. But, Emilia would be very mad at him for hurting them, he stills going to do it anyway.

Naruto made a thought he would bring Emilia to his world and meet his friends. They're very good people and it'll be very good for Emilia to have her experience with them. It would be nice to have her meet his parents; for sure they would love to meet her. His mother wouldn't mind if he could marry Emilia.

Thinking about marrying Emilia; Naruto just realized he wanted to marry her because she's his world and everything. He couldn't help but have a blush on his cheeks and he could hear laughing from Bijuus in his mindscape. Damn them, but they were right about it.

"Naruto?"

The voice brought Naruto out of his head. "Sorry, too many thoughts in my head. Did you tell your brother that we're leaving the Sanctuary after the Trials?" He asked her.

"Yes, I did. I told Garfiel, and he's ready to leave when this is over, but he says he needs some time to get accustomed to the idea."

"That was a lot quicker than I thought, what made him change his mind?"

"I explained everything to him, and it seems he's ready to explore the outside world. And considering that I have your help in finding my mom, I don't think I can ever repay your services to me." Frederica said as she bowed to him but he waved his hands to stop her.

Frederica is serious and really wanted to pay back to Naruto for helping her to find her mother. He did everything for her and her little brother Garfiel because the Sanctuary needs his and Emilia's help to save everyone. Naruto and Emilia are the only ones who will do everything to save demi-humans until they get rid of the barrier.

Frederica would give the credits to Naruto because he's the one that inspired her to come back to her homeland and see Garfiel. Amazingly, he wanted to help demi-humans by taking the Trial but he let Emilia take it. She thought it'll be easy to have him take the trials but he wouldn't want this to Emilia. Well, it was Emilia's choice to retake it. The half-elf passed her first Trial from the tomb last night and believed she could finish all of them. She passed the first one because Naruto believed in her and she can do it.

"Hey sis! I just got back from my work-captain? What are you doing here?" Garfiel surprised when he saw Naruto talking with his big sister.

The blond shinobi had a brief memory of a kid who called him boss, before realizing that it was Garfiel who talked to him. "Captain? Me?" He asked, pointing at himself.

"Yeah, yeah, this is very awkward. After Frederica told me everything about you, that you wanted to help us look for our mother, I started to respect you as a comrade or a friend. But, I called you captain because you're a good man who helped me and my family." Garfiel said as he fisted on his chest.

"Oh…thanks?" Naruto wasn't sure how to respond, but he nodded anyway.

He felt a rush of memories suddenly appear on his mind and an unfamiliar mana was suddenly revealed to him somewhere in the forest. While it didn't feel like the Witch Cult, something wasn't right in the Sanctuary.

"Naruto?" Frederica asked.

"Something isn't right. Garfiel, I want you to check the barrier. Make sure no one's outside." Naruto ordered seriously.

"Huh? I checked already... you want me to check again?" Garfiel asked.

"Yes, this is serious. I sensed an unfamiliar magic signature. I want you to check the barrier again, and please, be careful. Whatever you do, don't attack. Just report to me." Naruto said. He put great emphasis on not attacking them since unlike him some people wouldn't hesitate to rip him to pieces, and they would be justified since Garfiel attacked first.

"Gotcha, captain!" He said.

"What's going on? Is it Witch Cult?" Frederica asked.

"No, it's something else. Warn Rem and the others. They need to be prepared."

* * *

After Garfiel left to check the barrier, Naruto warned everyone to be on the lookout for an unknown individual that could potentially be dangerous, naturally families immediately went to their houses for safety. Some reinforced clones would look over them in the meantime.

Once all villagers were gone inside their homes they went to meet the others to face this new, potential, threat.

They finally reached their house after warning the villagers, and as expected everyone was already in the living room, their energies were screaming danger. All of them were on edge and ready to just attack anything resembling some kind of enemy.

While he was in the process of warning the villagers he entered the Sennin Mode and he found out something very disturbing, Daphne's energy. That could only mean one thing.

"Naruto-kun, everyone is here." Rem said.

The blond shinobi nodded to her and looked at the people in the basement. "I will come back when it's over." He said as he clapped his hands once and the doors closed on them. Then, Naruto and Rem nodded to each other before they headed back to the village.

They reached the village, meeting Emilia and the others who were supposed to be here after they had the assignments from Naruto. He saw Emilia who just came out of the house and approached him now. Beatrice and Lewes came in the time from the forest, but Garfiel is probably busy checking out the barrier. Frederica is with Ram and they're somewhere in the forest, however, they should be back right now.

Right before Naruto and Rem arrived here; Naruto had already entered Sennin mode and searched for the enemy inside or outside of the barrier. He's right about no Witch Cult outside of the barrier, but he felt definitely evil inside the barrier because it's already in. This is very strange here… With his Sennin mode, he found a very familiar creature that Echidna explained to him about the Three Great Demons.

"How was everyone?" Emilia asked.

"Everyone is safe in the basement. The enemy won't find them." Naruto replied.

"What's going on? Is the Witch Cult coming?" Emilia asked.

"No, it's something else. I might know who it was… One of the Three Great Demons has entered the Sanctuary." He said as Rem and Emilia looked in shock at him, noticing their expression. He's being for real now and things are serious.

"Do you know what it was? I know three of them." Rem said.

"Yeah, I think I know what it was. It was called-"

Naruto and the two girls turned around as they saw Garfiel who ran and finished his assignment to check the barrier. They approached him and wanted to hear from him.

"How was it?" Naruto asked.

"Nothing. I told you that I already checked it, but…" Garfiel said, turning into the serious tone and his expression. "I noticed something wrong while running through the forest. There were no animals."

Then Naruto's fears were right. Just when he was about to explain to the other what their threat was he saw on the window something that made his blood turn cold considering at what distance they were from it.

Everyone tensed in preparation when they saw Naruto draw his kunai. They watched the window for any trace of their enemy but only found a cute looking bunny looking at them. It had a small horn on its forehead and it was completely white.

"A rabbit? What is it-" Emilia said before Naruto dashed and slashed at the rabbit with his kunai, effectively pushing it away from the house.

"Don't hesitate! This rabbit is an Oousagi, one of the Three Great Demon Beasts!" Naruto said as he looked at the forest scanning the area with his Sennin mode, he was already out the door not even looking at the bloody corpse of the rabbit beside him. He knew there'll be more coming in this direction.

He opened his hand to create a Rasengan, preparing to face the horde of Oousagi because they cannot be killed and in endless numbers. He saw his friends are prepared to face them, too but it's too impossible for them to fight them all. Oousagi will keep coming and multiplying unless every last one is killed. He could destroy all of them by using Rasenshuriken or more powerful than that to destroy them.

But, he can't use it in this place because he could destroy and ruin everything. That means there's a chance he could destroy the tomb and no more trials. Or he could use Gudodama to obliterate the Oousagi but can't show it to everyone.

"Naruto, I have an idea." Beatrice said. "Instead of killing them right here, I can send them to a different dimension."

"Really? That's a good idea." Naruto said as he looked at the horde of rabbits. He took her hand in his and she knew exactly what was going to happen. Red-looking mana suddenly appeared, surrounding her entire body.

She felt stronger than before, and with this red chakra Naruto gave her, she was able to create a large portal and sent the horde of Oousagi into a different dimension. Beatrice opened her hand and glared at the horde of rabbits as it began to open the large portal for them to get sucked inside. However, this ain't over yet for them because Naruto planned something.

The shinobi created a Rasenshuriken, the same one he used against Madara. He told Beatrice to hold the portal open and threw it inside before the portal closed.

"Well, that was… easy." Naruto answered, honestly underwhelmed. While he was relieved this was handled rapidly he expected more of a Demon Beast, it seemed like it just had numbers and nothing else.

"What did you do to them?" Emilia asked.

"Beatrice sent them to a different dimension and I destroyed all of them. Just in case nobody finds them." Naruto said.

* * *

Several hours later, Naruto and his friends went back to the tomb. It was time for Emilia to take her second trial. This time there wasn't so much hesitation so, when the doors opened for her, she just entered without so much as a word.

Naruto smiled at her and wished her good luck before he went back to Sanctuary. Rem and the others stayed behind to wait for Emilia returns, but Naruto had something for Roswaal after Echidna revealed his plan.

"Naruto, what are you doing here?" Ram's surprised a bit to see him, but his mood isn't in a good mood when he sees Roswaal resting on the bed. Glaring at him with his death stare, it looks like he's going to kill him.

Ram doesn't know what's going on between Naruto and Roswaal, but she knows he's going to kill Roswaal-sama. She was going to stop him from approaching her master but her master waved his hand to tell her to let Naruto enter the house.

"Oh my~ It looks like someone isn't in a good moooood~" Roswaal said with a smirk as he got up from the pillow and looked at Naruto. "Tell me, what do you need~"

Naruto tilted his head to the man, looking at him with seriousness. "Why did you lie to Emilia? You made a promise to her that you would help her become Lugnica's ruler so she could get the dragon's blood to save the elves." He asked. "I don't like people who lie to others, especially those who lie to innocent people. You used her to get dragon's blood so you can resurrect your teacher, Echidna."

"So…you asked Echidna about me. I didn't expect you would ask her about me and she told you all about me." Roswaal said.

"I figured you would say that." Naruto said as he pulled the chair and sat on it. "Now, tell me. Did you sent the assassin Elsa to kill Emilia? What was your purpose?" His eyes turned red, just for intimidation purposes.

"Oh myyy~. You're angry at me. So this is your true power. It seems like I have been exposed by my teacher. Allow me to tell you why I hired Elsa. I did it because of the Gospel." Roswaal said as he showed Naruto a gospel in his hand. "You killed Elsa to protect Emilia's life which explains why she didn't report to me. When I first met you, I realized my purpose was to make you and Emilia become friends or…lover. According to the Gospel, you two needed to meet as part of the path towards Echidna's revival, and what better way to meet than in a life or death situation."

Naruto narrowed his eyes slightly at his goal, and wouldn't say that he's lying to him. "Not only did you need us, but you were behind Rem and Ram's village before saving their lives from Witch Cult. Of course, you were following the gospel." He said as he clenched his fists, getting noticed by Roswaal.

Roswaal knew that telling Naruto his goal could piss him off. "I understand your anger, Naruto but I ain't giving up until I resurrect my teacher. You know I can't give up my goalll~" He said as he noticed Naruto's eyes changed into demonic eyes. His whiskers have grown thicker and his spiky hair has turned wild.

"If you ever hurt Emilia or Rem, I'll fucking kill you with no mercy. Even if you can use six elements when you're full health, you can't stand a chance against me. Actually, I could kill you right now." Naruto said, raising his chakra up without realizing Ram is still here but noticed right now. "Ram, do me a flavor. Leave the room and don't interfere with us."

That's the first time Ram gets scared of Naruto's true power and orders what he told her. She tried to stand against him but her body warned her not to fight him. His mana-no, his chakra overwhelmed her and Roswaal because she feared Naruto could actually win and kill Roswaal.

After Ram left them alone, Naruto turned around to Roswaal, still sitting on the bed. He's injured, but Naruto had to be realistic about this. It wasn't a fair fight with Roswaal's injury, so he decided.

I'll heal you first and then we fight somewhere else. I don't want to destroy the Sanctuary." Naruto said. The challenge may have come out of nowhere but he decided that he needed some justice after the whole heart stab thing.

"Very well. I'll show you. But be warned, I won't hold back."

…

…

"Neither will I."

* * *

"Emilia-sama, are you okay?" Rem asked, helping the half-elf on her feet after she passed the 2nd Trial.

"I'm okay… I'm getting used to it." Emilia said as she looked ahead at the forest, worried about not seeing Naruto. "Where's Naruto?"

"He didn't say… he just vanished." Rem said, feeling unsure about Naruto's location. He always tells her where he is going before leaving.

The same feeling Emilia had, she knew Naruto so much and always tells Rem or her where he is going. Emilia started to get worried, really worry about him. Something is off about him before she went inside the tomb, but he didn't tell Rem that he was going to be away. This feeling is strange, and it warns her about Naruto.

Emilia and Rem walked downstairs until they saw Ram. They were surprised by her presence, the girl was almost aways on Rowaal's room so they approached the pink-haired maid.

"Sister?" Rem asked, wondering why is her sister here. She thought she's staying with Roswaal to take care of his injuries but she's here.

Ram nodded to her little sister and looked at Emilia who came from the second Trial. "Emilia-sama, I must apologize but I have a request to make." She said as Emilia's eyes widened.

"Eh? What happened? It's sooo uncommon for you to apologize." She said.

"I think the same. ...However, now is the first time that I bow my head to you sincerely." Ram said. "I... did not believe that you would come to stand. The Trial had broken your spirit, you lost the Great Spirit who was your support... until Naruto comforted you in your broken state. You have not yielded yet because of him."

Emilia says nothing but she listens to Ram's words. Though, it's very nice of Naruto to comfort her in her broken state and tell her not to give up. She couldn't hold herself but smiled about him because he's such a sweet, gentle, cutie, and kind-hearted person. She confessed her feelings to him and kissed him.

She placed her hands on her left chest to feel her heart. Feeling so much love for Naruto because he's her guardian angel and guardian knight. Without saying words, Emilia nodded to Ram that he's the best boyfriend in the world.

Ram knelt before Emilia. Whenever she demonstrated politeness around Emilia up to now, however insincere the sentiment may have been, it was always by grasping her skirt and performing a curtsy. Something within the scope of a maid's duties. But this time is different. This is the ultimate demonstration of politeness, where anyone living in this world illustrates all the respect that they have.

"I ask of you, Emilia-sama. Please save my master, Roswaal-sama."

"…Save Roswaal?"

"He is too preoccupied with his past. This is a curse of delusion, which has kept his heart bound for a long, long time… Perhaps I would have been happy even if he never cast his gaze upon me, and never regard me as more than a tool to accomplish that delusion, I would have been happy." Ram bared her heart to Emilia. Beneath her expressionless mask, she may have been holding this wish the entire time. "Emilia-sama, Naruto is going to kill Roswaal. He found out about his true intentions."

"What?!" Emilia shocked, covering her mouth with her hand in shock. "There's no way! I told Naruto not to do anything so reckless!"

"He knew everything about Roswaal's plan. Naruto is very angry and going to kill him." Ram said. "Emilia-sama, you are the only one who can stop Naruto from killing him. Please stop him and save Roswaal."

The words made Emilia slivers. She felt like a shock to her bloodstream, enough to imagine that a hand is jolting her heart once, twice. Naruto is going to kill Roswaal because he wanted to protect her. She knew him so much and his past.

Emilia is the only one who can stop Naruto from killing Roswaal. She didn't want him to kill him because it wasn't right to kill her attendant that helped her a lot. Ram begged her to stop Naruto and Roswaal before Naruto could kill him because he's way more powerful than him.

"Very well, I will save Roswaal." She said. "Show me where they are right now."

After Emilia decided to save Roswaal, she and the others were on their way to find Naruto and Roswaal before things got out of control. They passed through the Sanctuary and kept going in a straight direction, feeling the powerful chakra and mana clash each other. However, the chakra is more powerful than the mana. A huge wind almost blasted them away as they managed to stand against that.

Since it stopped, they kept going until they reached the place where they were fighting in. They were shocked at how much damage they caused. So many trees are destroyed.

"Naruto, stop!" Emilia yelled, looking at Naruto stares down at Roswaal as she ran toward and grabbed his arm to stop him. She saw his head turns as he looked at her with his sun-colored eyes. "Enough… Please…"

After hearing Emilia's voice in his mind, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath for a few times, trying to calm himself. When he reopened his sun-colored eyes, he grabbed Emilia's hand gently and his mood wasn't angry at all.

"It's okay Emilia, I wasn't planning to finish him off." Naruto apologized as he looked at Roswaal with new injuries on his body. "Don't worry about him, I'll heal him in no time."

"Why don't you just…finish me off?" Roswaal asked, coughing blood from his mouth. "I told…you the truth… I am trying to kill you… I… I let it happened to Rem and Ram's village… I let it happened to my mansion and the village…"

Naruto didn't speak to him, but he picked the gospel he dropped from the battle. Looking at the gospel, it pissed him off so he destroyed it by using lava chakra with his arm to melt it. He turned to Ram, nodding to her as she approached Roswaal.

"Are you still mad?" Emilia asked.

"Nope, I'm not mad Emilia." Naruto said as his eyes turned back to normal. "How was your second Trial?"

"It was fine and I beat it, Naruto." Emilia said as she looked at Ram, helping Roswaal up and bringing him back to the Sanctuary. "Thank you for not killing him."

"I do it for you and Rem."

"Thank you Naruto/Naruto-kun." Emilia and Rem said in the same, smiling at him.

* * *

"This is it." Emilia took a deep breath, getting ready to take the last Trial. She was nervous but she understood that fighting against the trial was foolish.

The next day has already passed. Emilia had enough for resting before the nightfall. If she beat the last Trial, the barrier would be over, and everyone could be free. Then, the Trial would be no more and won't have to do it again. Before Emilia was going in, Naruto stopped her from entering the tomb.

"Naruto?" The half-elf asked as she looked at her boyfriend.

"Let me do this one, Emilia." Naruto said.

"What?"

"This one is different… It bothers me. I think it'll be a good idea to have me take the last Trial."

Hearing that he's taking the last Trial, Emilia shivered and got scared that he won't be returning from the tomb when he takes the final Trial. Her hands trembled as she grabbed Naruto's hand to prevent him from entering in, but he removed her hands and leaned in forward to kiss her lightly.

"I'll be fine, Emilia. It'll be quick. Just wait for me outside and then you'll see me. Okay?" Naruto asked.

"Okay… Wait!" Emilia stopped him as he turned around to her with a 'what's up' look on his face. She placed her hand on his chest, closing her eyes. "May the blessing of the spirits be with you." She prayed as she opened her eyes and smiled at him.

After Naruto received a blessing from her, he smiled at her before he entered the tomb to finish the final Trial. The doors are closed from everyone, which means Naruto had started.

Standing here outside and waiting for Naruto, Emilia wasn't too comfortable about this. She felt strange in her feelings and stung in her heart, warning her something about Naruto. The air changed when she looked it up to feel it. No wind, but she could only felt the dread. It's silent with no insects and birds.

"Emilia-sama!"

The half-elf turned around to Frederica who called her name and ran toward her. "What is it?" She asked.

"Good news! The barrier is gone! Now, everyone is free to go home." She said.

After Frederica announced everyone the good news, Emilia turned around to the tomb and ran toward it. That was quicker than she thought it was, but she's happy for Naruto that he beat the final Trial. She pushed the doors open when she's there and went inside to find him lying on the ground, which she found him unconscious here.

…

…

...

Something isn't right here. Emilia can't find Naruto unconscious around in the tomb, looking around everywhere. She usually found him lying on the ground when he finished meeting Echidna, but things are different. She blinked her eyes for seconds, but she started to get worried, really worried… Emilia never had this much feeling in her life. She laughed a bit, thinking this is some kind of prank from him…

Just now a couple of seconds, this is not a prank because Naruto wouldn't stay for that long. It's so dead silent. Emilia felt her hands tremble with fear. Her heartbeat is pounding so fast with fear like she faced the first try of the Trial.

Was this illusion what she saw? Or was this dream she had it now? Her fear answer is… no because she can't feel Naruto's presence here.

Her anxiety was getting worse as she looked around one more time looking for Naruto, but she couldn't find him here. She tried to sense his chakra, but no sign of his chakra.

"N-Naruto?! I-I know you're hiding from me. Please don't play with me!" She said, looking for him until she found a headband on the ground. Her eyes widened in shock and horror as she ran toward it and picked it up. "Naruto! Naruto!" Her tears have started streaming on her face.

Emilia ran around the area looking for him, but he's nowhere to be found. She dropped down to her knees, looking at the headband in worry and confusion. She shook her head and began her search again.

"Naruto, where are you?!"

* * *

**All the credits to ****XPartan Caos for grammar, editing, and word choices.**

**Spoiler alert for the next chapter: Satella will be there and it'll be different when i post the next one.**

**I fixed some grammar previous chapters as best as i could.**

**R: Please don't add Sasuke. **

**A: I won't add him to this story.**


	17. Chapter 17

**Credits to K****yizinmaung2002 for grammer. ****Credits to ****XPartan Caos for grammar, editing, and word choices.**

* * *

He didn't get a second to say goodbye to Emilia because the moment his foot touched the tomb he was dragged inside by many Unseen Hands. He allowed himself to be dragged into the darkness, not feeling the need to struggle against his "restraints".

Naruto couldn't sense anyone in this place but more importantly, Echidna's energy was missing. However, he wasn't alone, the bijuu were with him.

**"You're an idiot for getting yourself captured but I can't blame you. You did what you had to do to save your girlfriend." Son said, slightly annoyed. He was a proud bijuu and the idea of his container getting captured was slightly infuriating to him.**

Naruto sighed in acceptance and nodded to himself. He did what needed to be done. He prevented Emilia from entering the tomb and letting the Unseen Hands capture her. He knew the Witch of Envy would be there, waiting for Emilia. He felt it, her energy had an indistinguishable feeling to it, a very familiar feeling indeed.

Perhaps she was growing annoyed at her subordinates for failing her again and again, if Emilia's body was truly what she was after. If he was in her place, he would certainly be anxious or even displeased.

It seemed as though she would take matters into her own hands.

"I'm sorry…"

The voice brought Naruto out of his thoughts. "That voice." He started to track her energy signature.

Without a second thought, he followed his sensor. He came to a stop when he saw her back.

**"Be careful, she's very unstable right now," Kurama warned his container. He was feeling her emotions were all over the place, from fear to sorrow to longing and, strangely enough, joy. Like this, she was as dangerous as a cornered animal.**

Naruto nodded and approached with caution. He had no choice but to approach her, there was nothing else to do in this place.

However, when he approached her, she stepped away from him. She seemed fearful of him, for some reason, and it made it seem like he was the bad guy here. So, knowing this would help her, he stopped before he reached her.

"I'm sorry… P-Please stay away from me…"

When she finally spoke her voice wasn't raspy or arrogant, it was soft and fearful.

"Why are you sorry? Why do you sound so sad?" Naruto asked softly, continuing to approach her, but she stepped away from him even further. "Why are you scared?"

"Y-You saw what I did to you… I-I watched you die in her arms… I-I'm scared that you will get angry with me." She said before her back hit an invisible wall. This seemed to throw her into a panic. "P-Please stay away from me… I-I'm a bad person… I hurt you and I... and I-" Her voice dropped when he started to hold her cheek.

"Echidna told me everything she knew about you… Well, almost everything." He said as the shadows covering her face vanished. His eyes widened when he saw a very familiar face, Emilia's face.

Every characteristic of hers was there, from her long silver hair, her amethyst eyes to her pointed ears. Why did they look the same?

The second thing he noticed was her eyes, more specifically, her tears. Since Naruto is still holding her cheek, he used his thumb to clean her tears and gave her a smile trying to appear as passive as possible.

He felt that this seemed to calm her a little. This triggered a small memory and he decided to use what he remembered.

He pulled her into a hug. It was ironic in a sense, the last time he did this he was fighting himself and his past, now he was doing so again but not for himself.

The silver-haired girl tried to back away but he didn't allow it, determined to make her feel accepted, just as he needed a hug, perhaps she too needed one. She let out choked sobs as she buried herself into his chest mumbling inaudible words.

For the next minutes, they just remained in this position, her cries gradually dying in his chest. She wasn't crying anymore but her sadness was still very much present.

"Feel calm now?" Naruto asked.

Satella simply nodded. "… I don't understand... Why aren't you angry with me? I'm the Witch of Envy, she who swallowed the other six witches and half the world. People hate me for what I did… so why don't you?"

"I was very interested in your story, what would make someone just snap one day and swallow a good portion of this world." He said as he and Satella pulled away from each other. "Something like an out of control, very powerful Witch Factor." Now that he said that out loud he realized he could've been like this person, controlled by a power greater than himself and blamed for horrible crimes that he had no part in.

Was this why he was helping her? Was he trying to understand her because he felt a certain kinship with her? Maybe, in his mind, she was an image of something that he could've been. This amount of thoughts have been tiring him lately.

"So… she told you everything?" She asked, ashamed of herself for losing her mind against her powers, not aware of his thoughts.

"Yeah, but I believe there are some things that only you can answer…"

"I see… I'm sorry for sending you here… I… I…"

"That's okay, I don't mind at all." Naruto said. "Satella."

"Yes?"

"I'd like to hear your story, can I?"

"...Of course. I'd love to tell you everything about me and this world."

* * *

"Emilia-sama?"

There was no response. The only sound that followed the question was that of a door opening.

The blue-haired maid spotted a silver-haired girl on a bed, her face buried in a pillow. Her brow furrowed in concern when she saw she held Naruto's headband in her hand.

Stepping inside the room, she saw the poor state the girl was in.

Her appearance, normally royal and composed was now messy, with dry tears on her cheeks, she had bags under her eyes and her hair was disheveled. Amethyst eyes were looking at a little white hairpin in the shape of a butterfly, seemingly lost in memory.

"Emilia-sama…" Rem spoke as she sat on the bed with the half-elf. "I know you don't want to leave, but it's not safe to stay here… I can't leave you behind." She remembered that she arrived to look for them when they didn't appear last night, she just found Emilia waiting and calling out for Naruto to come back. But he didn't and she didn't know why, but entering the Tomb was useless now, he was nowhere to be found.

"He was my first real friend. I…I was nervous and scared of how everyone was going to treat me, but he came to help me." Emilia said, uncaring for tears on her face. "I laughed when he did funny things and I smiled when he comforted me. He helped me deal with all the stress I had. He's the human I love the most… and I miss him, and I won't leave him behind just because the barrier is open."

It didn't matter to her if she was free to go, she was going out of this place with him or she wouldn't.

Emilia was brought out of her thoughts when the room lit up, she looked around and saw the lesser spirits she had contacted to help her look for him. They told her something that immediately brightened her mood.

"Wh-What? That's impossible…"

Rem heard her speak to the little glowing spirits. "What is it, Emilia-sama?" She asked.

Without saying a word, Emilia jumped out of the bed, opened the door, and ran to the forest where the Sanctuary was with the lesser spirits trying to keep up with her.

* * *

"You didn't want this? The Witch-Cult is trying to bring you out of the seal, but you don't want it?" Naruto was shocked to learn that Satella didn't want to be freed by that group.

The silver-haired girl nodded slowly and looked at her beloved with an apologetic expression. "I never wanted this… I would never do such bad things to you and your loved ones… not me, but the Witch of Envy would. I'm so sorry, I didn't know that I could hurt and anger you." She said sadly.

"If you don't want to leave, can you just not accept their offer?" Naruto asked.

"It isn't that simple, I can't control my power. As the Witch of Envy, I'm no longer me and I'd do anything to get out of here. You must understand, you can't let them capture Emilia or else my magic will possess her." Satella said, feeling ashamed of herself, but a comforting hand grabbed hers.

"Your hand is really cold…" Naruto said sadly. "You've been in this empty place too long. I'm sorry…"

"Why would you apologize? This isn't your fault." Satella said, but he shook his head. "What is it?"

"Let's get out of here. I don't wanna stay in this cold place." Naruto said as both of them stood up and walked together to find a door. He held Satella's hand, not letting go of her.

He knew he couldn't bring Satella to the outside world right now, but now that he knew the story of Satella and not that of the Witch of Envy he wanted the best for her, to get her a good ending.

"Naruto."

"Yeah?"

"You met the other six, do you like them?"

"Well, yeah, they were pretty cool, even Minerva... She's cool but scary." Naruto had a shiver run down his spine.

Satella let out a lighthearted giggle at his face. "You'll get used to her. I'm glad you aren't scared of them." She said.

"Why would I? Most of them don't even look dangerous. There was one that almost fell asleep when I met her. It was weird because I thought they would be old." He said before his cheek got pinched by Satella. "What?"

"That was very mean to them. Are you saying I'm an old woman too?" Her mood seemed much better now, and she didn't want to ruin the mood so she pouted and looked away too.

"Sorry! Sorry! My bad."

"They're going to be mad at you."

"Eh? You know I was just joking around… Satella?" Naruto looked at the sad expression on her face. "What's wrong? You can tell me."

"It's just… It was just that I've been stuck here for so long… It's cold and lonely…" She answered as she grasped his hand. "Honestly, I was scared that you were going to be angry at me. How come you forgave me so quickly?"

"I could've been in your situation." Naruto remembered he faced his true self. "I could've been you, Satella. I fought my dark side once, he was surrounded by nothing but hatred. I have no idea what would've happened if I took his path. To just allow my power and hate to guide my actions. Perhaps everyone held dear would've died by my hand. But I trusted someone that prevented that."

"Who did you trust?" Satella asked.

"I trusted myself." Naruto smiled at Satella as her eyes narrowed in confusion. "To trust myself, as the one who can make a true impact in my life. Maybe you should trust yourself too, trust that you can control your powers-"

Satella cut him off by hugging him. "That's the first time I've received help with this problem…" She said with a smile.

"Satella, I-" Naruto paused as his smile quickly transformed into a serious face. He pushed her away gently and stepped in front of her, glaring at another person that looked like the woman he was talking about. "Satella, is this…?"

Satella glanced at the shadowy figure, and she nodded to him dumbfounded. "That's impossible... that's my other self… H-How?" She wondered, but she felt her witch factor leaks out from her body, making her grit her teeth in anger and pain.

"You chose her over me. You chose her over me. You chose him over me. You chose him over me." A soft but powerful voice said, sounding resentful.

The words made Satella shiver, but she realized that figure sounded hurt.

This wasn't good, this thing was the manifestation of her power, this was the Witch of Envy. A version of her that took everything she wanted whether others liked it or not, herself included, and she seemed pissed right now.

"I'm not here to destroy you or kill you… I'm here to stop you and free you." He said, glaring at the Witch of Envy with his sun-colored eyes as his entire body turned yellow chakra with yellow coat and bodysuit beneath.

"Naruto, you're…" Satella said, shocked at the amount of energy that emanated from his form.

"Satella, hold on tight." He said.

"Right." She wrapped her arms around his neck when he scooped her up with one arm in a princess carry.

Naruto grabbed a black rod with his free hand. He was ready to fight against the Witch, who started the fight by sending a great number of 'Unseen Hands', all he did was slash at them while he guarded Satella.

He was underestimating their numbers when some of them were quickly gaining power and size. He began to fly high into the dark void and sent two of his Gudodama to explode against the Hands that were going after them resulting in a humongous explosion.

After destroying them, the Gudodama quickly returned to his back, tiny after losing a lot of their stored energy, but they returned to normal size once he filled them again.

He could fight the Witch to the death, but what would happen to Satella? Her emotions were beginning to fluctuate rapidly just as her mana, her attacks were beginning to grow stronger and bigger by the second.

"Don't touch my beloved! Don't touch my beloved! Don't leave me! Don't leave me!" She repeated as she unleashed 2000 Unseen Hands at them.

Naruto gritted his teeth and held Satella tightly. "Satella, hold me tight!" He said as she nodded to him and held him tight.

He has 9 Gudodama with him…so he should be able to keep up with the Witch of Envy by using defense and Rasenshuriken to destroy her Hands. He could use the Bijuu Dama or Bijuu Dama Rasenshuriken on them, but the problem is he'll destroy the whole place, and that made things more complicated, since he didn't know if he could go back where he came from.

Seeing 2000 of Unseen Hands, Naruto dodged every one of their touches. He slashed his rod at them, shot the Gudodama, and used a shield to protect himself and Satella. Even though his Gudo Dama could destroy the Unseen Hands, they just kept coming and didn't seem to end.

A massive Hand appeared out of nowhere, ready to just slam him against whatever counted as a floor here. He couldn't dodge, it was too late, but he could embrace for impact. So, he did exactly that, making sure that Satella was secured against his chest.

They slammed against the floor and both were unharmed, but the massive Hand was still trying to get them.

Naruto formed a massive Rasengan and smashed it into the giant Unseen Hand and the hundreds of other Hands, making a straight path to the Witch. His chakra arms automatically came out from his back and created multiple Rasengan to destroy the new Hands that were going to touch him. Naruto flicked his wrist and a Rasenshuriken was immediately there, brimming with power.

"Rasenshuriken!" Naruto threw the technique at the witch and directly hit her as it was released into a huge vortex sphere. He hoped his base attack could at least knock her out, but his hope faded when he saw the figure in the smoke, almost unharmed.

Right… As far as anyone was aware, this being was immortal, like Kaguya, though she didn't hold a candle to the goddess, immortality was still immortality.

"Naruto, behind you!"

He dodged the attack but there was a second one ready to pound his bones into dust. He let go of Satella to brace against the hundreds of punches. This was a bad idea, while the impact was nothing, the sensation they left behind was very painful, almost as if they were poisoned or coated in acid.

Naruto immediately summoned thousands of clones to help him fight against this never-ending attack. This left him much needed time to heal whatever it was the Hands were coated in.

**"What the fuck are you doing?! Getting yourself killed!?" Kurama yelled.**

"Sorry, sorry! I lost my focus!" Naruto yelled as his left arm healed.

**"She can't die! Not even my Bijuu Dama could keep her down for long. Can you stop holding back for a while and give it your all?!"**

'Yeah, I guess you're right.'

"There's a way…" Satella spoke as Naruto looked at her.. "Naruto, I can help you get out of here, but you're gonna have to leave me…"

"What?"

"It's the only way I can help you… You heard the stories, I'm unable to be killed-Ow!" Satella had her forehead flicked by Naruto's finger as she rubbed her forehead after that.

"Idiot! I care about you and I won't leave you behind. No matter what, I'll save you." Even if he helped her just because he was seeing himself in her, he still cared about her as a person.

"Naruto!"

Naruto heard a familiar voice as he looked at his surroundings. That voice belonged to Emilia, but how could he hear her? That's seemed impossible because he's imprisoned in this dark void.

He saw a strange blue orb flying towards him. It was one of Emilia's lesser spirits. He wondered why it's here, more so when hundreds more appeared. The lesser spirits surrounded him and Satella and began to shield them from the Witch of Envy.

"This is beautiful. I've never seen so many of them." Satella said.

"Me neither." Naruto said as he opened his hand when the lesser spirit landed on his palm. It's speaking to him, he understood perfectly since his bond with nature was powerful. "You must be one of Emilia's lesser spirits. You want to help me, so she doesn't cry?" He asked the lesser spirit, looking at it for the seconds until it floated away.

**"Got any plans?" Kurama asked more calmly now that Naruto wasn't going to hold back his punches.**

"Yeah, I know what they want." Naruto said, he sounded slightly amused.

Naruto raised his arm and created a massive Rasengan, immediately after hundreds of spirits surrounded it. The technique looked like a balloon expanding to a ridiculous size. Both, his yellow chakra and their mana combined into a powerful Rasengan with a beautiful rainbow color.

The Rainbow Rasengan shined everywhere, destroying nearly all of the Unseen Hands and his clones, the whole place began cracking open like glass the more chakra and mana they poured into the technique.

When the crack opened enough, sunlight began to slip through. Naruto took a massive leap and dove down at full speed toward the Witch of Envy as her Unseen Hand reached up to attack him. However, he was protected by the light effect of Rainbow Rasengan.

"Rasengan!" Naruto yelled as he hit the witch. He pushed the Rainbow Rasengan, using all his strength he roared and finally slammed the witch on the ground making even more cracks appear around them.

He destroyed her entire body, breaking the void and the energy that made up her form. Naruto saw the witch's body fade away and finally… the Witch of Envy was "dead". When he destroyed Satella's dark side, the whole place cracked like an egg and revealed a new location.

Naruto and Satella fell to the ground together, but he used his body to shield her from hitting the green grass. They looked up at the blue sky and the green grass, wondering where they were.

"It's so beautiful." Satella said with a happy expression as she got off him and explored her new surroundings. "This smells so nice and I feel so warm." She turned to Naruto who had a sad look on his face, she realized he must be feeling guilty of leaving her in the seal.

Satella approached him and held his hand to assure him. "You must go, Naruto. Someone is waiting for you outside." She said.

"But I-"

"No need to be worried about me. With this new place, I can enjoy myself much more now that I'm not surrounded by shadows all the time. It's my choice to stay here, I don't want to cause the world more problems."

"Satella, when I get out, I promise I'll find you and set your free-" Naruto was cut off when his lips tasted another pair.

When she stopped her kiss, she saw him looking at her in surprise and just giggled at his dumbfounded face.

"Thank you for helping me, Naruto." Satella said with a smile, waving her hand as she used her magic to lift him and send him back to the real world. "I'll wait for you… Now, I think I'll explore this new seal."

* * *

Emilia ran as fast as she could toward the tomb. Her lesser spirits guided her to Naruto. It must be his nature chakra that made them able to pinpoint his location.

She came out of the forest, and back to the tomb. She walked up the stairs and entered the tomb. Her eyes scanned the place while she walked. The lesser spirits left her once she entered, telling her to wait.

Then, her eyes widened in shock when she saw the blond man come out of a purple portal. When she saw Naruto come out, she covered her mouth with her hands, feeling relieved.

He walked toward her, but he began to fall because his body wasn't exactly accustomed to have reality warped around it. He landed on a warm body with a very familiar scent.

Feeling Emilia's embrace, Naruto closed his eyes and breathed softly.

Emilia wrapped her arms around his neck before she dragged them both to the ground. She was feeling relieved, she feared the worst, refusing to move before seeing his body with her own eyes.

Hey, Emilia… Did you miss me?" He asked.

"Yes, I missed you! I thought you were gone forever, but I knew you would come back." Emilia said, some relieved tears falling from her eyes.

Naruto narrowed his eyes and he sighed, he pulled away from their embrace, raising his hand to clean her tears. "I'm sorry for making you cry…" He smiled as his forehead touched hers.

He kissed the half-elf to comfort her, he wanted her to realize that he was here with her, totally unharmed.

"Emilia-Emilia don't worry, I won't leave you. Why would I? Our journey is just beginning."

"I feared you broke your promise, Naruto. I don't want to know what would happen if you died. I don't want to be alone again. I want you to stay with me. To tell you the truth, I'm afraid I'll need your help, even if I become the ruler of Lugnica." Emilia said, expressing her insecurities to him.

"No, you don't you're just saying it because you were scared, there is no need to back away from your dream like that."

Emilia's eyes widened slightly, appreciating his faith in her, she then remembered something and reached for her pouch bag. "Here. You dropped this." She said, giving back his headband to him.

"Thank you, Emilia." Naruto said as she wrapped his headband for him. " I really can't wait for my friends to know you."

"I can't wait either."

"Emilia, before we leave, I have to check something." Naruto said as his girlfriend pulled away from him and looked at him in confusion.

"What? Why?" She asked, getting worried about him disappearing again.

"I need to see something. Want to help me?"

"Of course." Emilia smiled lightly.

The two began to walk together out of the tomb, while they walked Naruto was telling Emilia all that happened in the tomb.

When the two went outside, they saw Rem standing with a shocked expression. She sprinted and leaped to hug Naruto. He released a chuckle as he hugged Rem back.

"I thought you were gone. We were gonna leave you… I'm sorry." She said remorsefully.

"Hey, hey now. Everything is going to be alright. Rem, I'm going nowhere. We're leaving, but first, Emilia and I need to go check something."

"I understand, Naruto-kun."

It didn't take them long as Naruto used a sand platform for himself and Emilia to take a flight, if only to train on his sand manipulation. They arrived at a dilapidated stone building. Naruto and Emilia got off the sand platform.

"Naruto, what's this place?" Emilia asked, looking at the building.

"There's someone I need to see. I'll explain it to you later." He said.

Emilia just nodded in confirmation and followed him inside. They walked inside the building and finally came to a room with a blue crystal. An empty, blue crystal.

"She's gone…?"

Emilia looked at Naruto who had a surprised expression. "Naruto, who is she?" She asked.

"He was looking for me." The two heard the voice from behind them as they turned around and found a familiar girl with long pink hair. Emilia's eyes widened in shock when she looked at Lewes.

"Lewes? H-How? Why are you here?" She asked in confusion before Naruto's arm moved her away from the pink-haired girl.

"Your mana, your transformation, and even your acting are all very convincing. That is the original body of Lewes, but you're not Lewes Meyer." Naruto said with a serious tone, looking directly at the little girl. "I knew that knowledge was your strong point, but you are quite the actress, Echidna."

"Lewes" let out a giggle with a new voice. "You're brilliant, Naruto. It's not everyone that returns to the living world once Satella traps them. I transferred my soul into this body." She said as she lifted a necklace to show to Naruto. "This necklace contains the five souls of the other witches. Oh, they missed you when you completed the third Tria, especially Daphne."

"Echidna? And the other five witches?" Emilia was so lost and has no idea what's going on between her and Naruto.

Naruto was going to explain to Emilia everything but decided this wasn't the place to. "Really? Well, you can tell them I say 'hi'. Do I call you Echidna? I think that would be very problematic to call you in public." He asked.

"I already thought of that, I'll call myself Omega."

* * *

It has been seven days since Naruto arrived at their new home. It was Roswaal who found another place, apparently he had "friends", whatever that meant.

The chakra paths in his arm were badly strained in his fight against the Witch and her mysterious…poison? Anyway, these days have done wonders for them.

"Emilia-sama. Naruto-san. Thank you for coming to visit us." Wilhelm said, bowing to the shinobi and the half-elf that sat on the couch together. "It's been quite a while since we saw each other, it's good to see you."

"It's good to see you again, old man." Naruto smiled at his friend.

"We came here to see all you after the sin archbishops attacked you." Emilia said. "Are you okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine. I managed to hold two of them off. They were strong but one of them that was almost... untouchable. There was a good chance that I wouldn't taste victory in our match, but everyone was lucky to be alive when they left." Wilhelm said as he looked at Naruto. "Naruto, I have a feeling you met these two, am I correct?"

"Yes, they attacked me because I had the scent of Hakugei. The Witch-Cult now knows I am a threat to them. They want me dead so they can get Emilia." Naruto said.

"I see." Wilhelm said as he frowned at Naruto slightly, remembering what he did to save everyone.

Naruto noticed Wilhelm's gazes staring at him. "Whihelm, what is-"

"Oh my~ It has been a while!"

Naruto and Emilia looked at Ferris. He was here with Crisch to meet them. It was great to see them alive and mostly unharmed.

"You two…must be people I knew…" Crusch said with a depressed tone.

Naruto and Emilia couldn't help but feel sorry for her, she has changed so much since the attack. What they remembered as a fearless warrior that inspired everyone to defeat the Hakugei was now a confused person that could barely walk by herself.

"My name is Naruto Uzumaki." Naruto introduced himself.

"I'm Emilia." Emilia introduced herself softly with a soft smile.

"I'm sorry, I don't remember your names. I've been told that you two helped me, and yet I've been nothing but rude. Please forgive me." Crusch apologized weakly as she bowed to them.

"Crusch-sama, it's alright, you can't help it. It doesn't bother us." Emilia said, waving her hand to assure her she's okay with that.

"Well, now that Naruto and Emilia-sama are here, let us talk." Wilhelm said.

"They were the Sin Archbishop of Gluttony…witnessing that Authority, there's little doubt." Wilhelm gave a grave nod, a sharp gleam in his eyes as he stares at Crusch. She flinched noticeably at the severity of it. "My apologies. I bear no ill toward you, Crusch-sama. That I have frightened you is inexcusable. I yet have much to learn."

"No, I'm the one who should apologize for being an inadequate master. I'll do my best to remember you as well, Wilhelm-sama." She said.

Wilhelm's expression took a look of pity, he sometimes couldn't bear to look at her, the master to whom he'd devoted his sword to, in this state, probably because he was blaming himself for it.

What puzzled him was Ferris, he didn't seem all that bothered by Crusch's transformation.

"Sloth is dead, and now all the other Sin Archbishops are getting involved? This sucks. The moment Emilia-sama became a candidate in the royal selection, we knew the Witch Cult would get involved." He said, staring at Emilia with a serious glare.

"Maybe… it's my fault…" Emilia said sadly, looking at the ground, ashamed to think she was to blame for Crusch's state. But then, a hand grabbed hers unsurprisingly it was the blond, giving her a comforting smile.

He sighed and looked at Ferris. "Emilia wasn't at fault. It's my fault for letting that happen to Crusch, the two archbishops were looking for a person with the Hakugei's scent. They attacked you first and almost killed everyone, so don't blame Emilia just because she's the main target of the Witch Cult. Blame me for killing the whale, if you're looking for the responsible."

"Naruto…" Emilia watched as he took the blame for letting the two archbishops attack Crusch and the others. Her hands turned up to palms and held his hand. "This isn't your fault, Naruto. You didn't know."

"Well, I can see why you want to take the blame and defend Emilia, but what you say makes sense. Naruto killed the Hakugei by unleashing his strange power. It would make sense why they would go look for a monster."

Emilia's eyes immediately narrowed in annoyance. She wouldn't allow this to happen to Naruto. She would scold the knight when Wilhelm took the words from her mouth.

"Ferris!" Wilhelm's sharp roar swept through the room, it was like a thunder. "You are overstepping your bounds! Regardless of what you think of Naruto, you don't have the right to call him such a slander!"

"I have to agree with Wilhelm." Crusch said. "Ferris, I cannot ignore how you're acting. Apologize." She said, trying to sound stern. Her weak expression however was very telling of how much this was draining her. She was very weak right now, but her eyes were fierce and her gaze shot through her knight. "There is nothing laughable about someone admitting things they did wrong. You have no right to call him names. You understand?"

"Yes, Crusch-sama…" Ferris said softly as he looked at Emilia and her knight, Naruto. He gave them a bow. "Emilia-sama, I apologize for my bad behavior to your knight. Naruto-kun, I'm sorry."

"Don't worry about it, Ferris." Naruto smiled, though it was clear that the comment had affected him.

"But, just let me say this…" He said as he bowed again. "Can we…rejoin the alliance once again?"

Naruto and Emilia were shocked at Ferris bowing to them without a second thought. He was affected by Crusch's state and was bottling these feelings, looking for a culprit where there was none other than the Archbishops.

"I know we dissolved the alliance after we killed Hakugei, but after we got attacked by the Sin Archbishops, I…I don't know what to do. I didn't know how to save Crusch-sama, but I tried to not give up to my desperation and I did my research. I finally found out that killing the Sin Archbishop of Gluttony is the only way to get her back. But, it's impossible to kill it… he's on a different level…" Ferris said, tears of desperation streaming down his face. "Naruto… Emilia-sama… Please… Please save Crusch…"

"...Leave it to me, but I want you to know that I'm doing this for Crusch." Naruto was all for helping his comrade, but he was still a human, and thus, he couldn't just immediately forgive Ferris for what he said even if he didn't mean it, what he said was really hurtful and was deeply tied to his childhood trauma... "I promise I'll bring her memories back"

* * *

"So this is a knight's uniform." Naruto said, looking himself over once he was changed into the formal knight uniform. It was almost an exact copy of the one worn by Reinhard and Julius.

Come to think of it, the shinobi was pretty surprised that the knight uniform fits him perfectly. This was made by a person named Clind. He is a house steward serving the Miload Family.

"Naruto-sama, to wear this correctly, you are required to begin with the under vestment. Just a word of advice."

Naruto turned around and saw a young man with blue hair, he was quite tall. He wore a pristine black butler uniform with a monocle on his left eye. This gentleman right here is Clind, he was the one who took his measurements.

"I'm okay. I'm surprised these clothes fit me perfectly. How long has this ceremony been planned exactly?" Naruto asked.

"It was raised in discussion instantly following your arrival in our household. And once decisions were made to hold the ceremony after Roswaal-sama's return… Well, I assure you that Emilia-sama has studied and rehearsed the ceremony thoroughly." Clind said.

"Oh wow. Then, she must be prepared." Naruto said as he looked at himself in the mirror, checking out his knight uniform and how they complimented his looks. He stretched his arms out to test if it bothered him in any way, but it was surprisingly comfortable for a uniformed designed to look restrictive.

To be honest, this knight uniform wasn't his style, but even he had to admit that they fitted him nicely, it made him look... professional and serious. He would prefer wearing shinobi clothes but these were the proper clothes for a knight, it was similar to how the Hokage had a special robe, it was a formality.

"Clind, before the ceremony starts, what am I supposed to do?" He asked, clueless as to what he had to do.

"You step forward when you're called, then you kneel before Emilia-sama, you draw your sword from its scabbard and pass it to her. Emilia-sama takes the sword and puts it to your neck, she speaks the oath… then you accept the oath in return. That's all."

Naruto looked surprised as he turned around and gazed at Garfiel. "Thank you, Garfiel. I'm surprised that you know this."

"It's no problem, captain. You needed it. Oh, are you done?" He asked, he had a troubled expression on his face.

"Yeah, what's up?"

"Uhh… you might want to talk with your friends." Garfiel opened the door, showing Petra carrying a cute fluffy, orange fox in her arms. That familiar orange fox she carried was Kurama who he had bargained with to turn into a cute fox and in return, he would get a semi-freedom he had been working on lately. The little fox was giving him the deadliest glare possible, which wasn't much for his actual form.

Naruto couldn't help but chuckle at the proud bijuu. "Come on, Kurama. Playing with a child isn't too bad."

**"GO FU-"**

**"Hey, watch your language!" Matatabi said as she came right beside Petra in her small size like Kurama. She looked nothing like her normal form, she wasn't in fire because of the problems that would cause normally and instead had blue fur, aside from that she was still a cat. "You can't say that in front of the child." As expected of Matatabi, she was the only one who knew of human etiquette.**

**"HAHAHA! You look so hilarious, Kurama!" Shukaku laughed at Kurama, pointing his paw at him. He too had a very different form. He looked like a cross between a dog and a raccoon, he looked like a normal tanuki.**

**"Damn you, Shukaku! I'll kick your as-I mean your butt! Goddamn it! Everyone is so annoying!" Kurama yelled, the action looked strange since his voice didn't keep up with his mouth, since bijuu didn't talk normally.**

Naruto decided that it was a good idea to let the bijuus have a little fun. Even if they were ageless beings made out of pure power they were still intelligent beings and thus, they had a right to their freedom, even one as limited as this one. The three before him were the ones that decided to stick around, the rest were exploring around and stretching their legs, or wings in one case.

This freedom had a very important limitation, however. They couldn't go further than his sensor could naturally sense, or their forms would immediately dissipate and their consciousness would return to the seal. This way they would have fun and remain safe. He wouldn't let them be captured as long as he lived, they had to be protected. No one would wield their power against their will, not again. Not after a whole war centered around them.

**"Hey, you release me! I am neither small nor tender, I'm a great demon created by the wisest god that exists!" Kurama shouted to Petra with a shrill voice bringing Naruto out of his thoughts.**

"But you're so cute, Kurama! All your friends are so cute!" Petra smiled as she lifted the little fox up and nuzzled on his head with her cheek.

Naruto continued to watch Kurama and the other Bijuus with a smile on his face, determined to act as their guardian. Maybe what Kurama said was right.

_**"The war changed you. You're starting to sound like the old man, Hagoromo."**_ Just maybe.

"Here, take this, Captain."

Naruto turned and accepted the sword that Garfiel offered him. The blond shinobi tested the blade and weighted it. The sword was heavier than the normal katana he used sometimes to train.

So, he sheathed his knight sword and turned to face Clind. "I'm ready, Clind." He said.

"I'll notify our lords and after that, they will begin the ceremony."

* * *

Naruto has been in this hall before, but it looks nothing like he remembered it.

Candelabra lined the red carpet adding a formal atmosphere to the room.

Garfiel looked ready to go already. Beside him were Frederica and Clind. Ram and Rem were close, in their normal attire.

Kurama and the other Bijuus sat right next to Rem, waiting for Emilia to perform the ceremony speech. Looking at their expressions, they're pretty excited to see how the ceremony works, he guessed that it was because it was from an entirely different world.

Naruto looked to find Petra gazing at him, to which he responded with a wave. Besides her was Beatrice.

And standing before him is a silver-haired girl, waiting. She was in a different outfit, making him look at her in awe, she was beautiful, more so than normal. She seemed a little nervous about the whole ceremony,

Naruto breathed slowly as he took a step forward and began to get close to her. When he was close enough, the shinobi kneeled before her. With his knee to the ground, he bowed his head. He followed this instruction from Garfiel thanking him mentally.

The shinobi took his sword from his waist and lifted the blade, unsheathing it horizontally before his chest. Her pale fingers touched the sword. She slowly lifted it, until its tip pointed to the ceiling.

As Emilia held the sword, the point of the blade descended on his left shoulder. She rested the flat of the blade on his shoulder and moved to his right shoulder. Doing this to Naruto, she was amazed at how calm he is, but refrained from such thoughts, they were in the middle of an important event.

"To the sun that gazes over the radiant world, to the stars that watch the realm in its sleep. To the winds, to the waters, to the earth, to the light, to the spirits residing in everything."

The silence shattered. Emilia's lips sing the ceremonial rite.

"To the grand world that received you, that nurtured you, that delivered you. To the pride that supports you, that you built, that you fostered."

Naruto listened to the ceremonial rite from Emilia. The passion burning inside him is ready to combust. He wondered if this was how all knights felt in their ceremony. It was a nice feeling.

"To everything that watches over you, to the world that raised you, to the pride that supports you, let your way cast no shame. Without fear, without dread, without doubt, be as you are in your heart. With your will always strong, and as everything that surrounds you does, will you swear to protect me from this moment forth?"

"To the sun, to the god, to the world, to my pride and…" Naruto began before a large group of lesser spirits appeared. That didn't bother him because he felt their presence but the people around them were, judging by their emotions.

It was a beautiful moment, watching their positions and the spirits surrounding them they looked like the perfect painting. Royal and beautiful were not enough to describe the scene, but words couldn't hope to do so, the people could just look at it in awe.

"To my mother and my father. With my sword and my life, I swear I will protect you." The shinobi continued. "With my soul and my heart, I will realize your wishes and your dreams. Achieve them to come true. I am Naruto Uzumaki, Emilia's knight."

Emilia lifted the sword from his shoulder. She fixed its alignment and presented it back to him. He respectfully accepted it in both his hands and sheathes it in its scabbard. Naruto returned the blade to his hip as he looked up at Emilia, still kneeling. He saw Emilia give a light nod and stood up.

"Emilia, you look beautiful." Naruto whispered with a smile, his cheeks an almost unnoticeable color of red.

"And, you look really handsome." Emilia whispered back with a blush.

* * *

Many dishes lined the table in the banquet hall. People were speaking about the ceremony and their first impressions.

Emilia watched the people enjoy the foods and drinks. She ate some delicious food from the table. She saw Petra dancing at the head of the hall in her dress. Petra pulled Beatrice along with her, forcing her into a shoddy dance. They looked very cute.

What she found more surprising though, is when she saw the group of cute Bijuus hanging around the tables and eating the food on them. It was a surprise to see them at the party, Naruto must've summoned them for the ceremony. The Bijuus looked cute, but each of them radiated pure power, hence why they were not bothered by the guards.

"Is it just me or were they supposed to be nine of them?" Emilia wondered, looking for the last Bijuu.

**"Are you looking for Kurama?"**

The half-elf heard a voice as she looked down and found a cute white-horned horse with five tails. "Oh yes! That's his name! The fox with nine tails Naruto talked about. Uhh… what's your name again? I'm sorry for asking, I haven't asked Naruto."

**"It's alright, Emilia. My name is Kokuo, the five-tails beast." She introduced as the half-elf nodded to her. "If you're looking for-ahh! I see! If you're looking for Naruto, he's outside talking with Kurama."**

"Ok, thank you, but I don't want to bother them while they're talking."

**"Don't worry about bothering them. Kurama gets tired of talking with Naruto all the time, it's, like, their thing. He gets bored all of the time and Naruto pesters him about being lazy."**

"Really? Does he always act like that in your world?"

**"Well, Kurama wants to sleep peacefully which is what he does after he finishes the fight or has nothing to do. He gets annoyed with people, but you don't have to worry. He's a good guy."**

"So… what do you think of Naruto?" This was the first time she was speaking directly to a Bijuu, so their opinion was very important for her to know.

**"Well, he's very cool, he even took the time to design these bodies for us to pilot. He reminds me of my father a lot, but he's very different at the same time. To be completely honest, only Kurama knows Naruto, we just happen to be in his seal because of safety reasons."**

Emilia was unfamiliar with the name Hagoromo, but she heard about him from Naruto. "Hagoromo? Are you saying he's the one who created you?"

**"That's right. He's the one who created us and took care of us until we grew older."**

"Hagoromo sounds like a nice guy." Emilia said.

**"Yes, Emilia, he was…" Kokuo paused when she saw Son drinking a bottle of alcohol. "Not him again! I have to go now, Emilia. If you want to see Naruto, he's outside with Kurama. Wait, I already told you that!"**

"Thank you." Emilia smiled as she watched Kokuo walk away. She giggled at them and moved on to meet Naruto who should be outside with Kurama.

She saw Naruto talking with Kurama, it seemed like a very heated argument judging by their glowing ruby eyes. She didn't want to bother them so she waited for them to finish.

It wasn't long before Emilia noticed Kurama looking at her. The nine-tailed fox told Naruto something and hopped down from the railing. When Kurama walked past Emilia he said no words but he did send her a simple nod.

"Hey, Emilia. Looking for me?" Naruto asked with a smile as the half-elf stood next to him.

"Yes, I'm sorry for interrupting you and Kurama." She said.

"Nah, it's alright." He said. "Are you enjoying the party?"

Emilia perked up, her face turning into a happy expression. "Yes, it's quite enjoyable." She answered as she wrapped her arms around him. "This is the first time for me to attend a party like this, and I'm very much enjoying it."

"I'm glad." Naruto smiled back while wrapping his arms around her, kissing her forehead, this made her face flush red, it seemed that intimate contact in public was still her weakness. "I'm afraid I'm gonna have to lock you up. You looked way too beautiful in that dress for it not be a crime."

Emilia had a cherry for a face at this point. He chuckled softly and she gave him a pout as she lightly punched his shoulder. She tipped her toes to reach up for his face, held his arm to support her height, and kissed his cheek to get him embarrassed, only to receive a raised brow. "That's not fair! You never get embarrassed!" She said as her boyfriend laughed at her face.

"Guess I'm the winner again, Emilia." Naruto said. "So, you were looking for me. What's up?"

"Oh yes! The reason why I'm looking for you… I think I'm ready now." Emilia said as Naruto blinked and turned to her. "My past. I never told you about it. Since you told me about your past, it's my turn to tell you my past."

Naruto just smiled gently and held her against him, waiting for her to finally open up to him.

"When I passed my first trial, I remembered everything about how my homeland was frozen. It was me who froze the whole forest, along with the elves and myself." Emilia said, looking at Naruto who had an apologetic expression as he listened to her story. "Before Elior Forest was frozen, I used to live there with my aunt."

It was a tale of happy memories and one of sorrowful ones too. She didn't know her parents. Fortuna, her aunt, loved Emilia in their place. The villagers kindly accepted them when they had nowhere to go. And then there was the organization called the Witch Cult, secretly helping the village, and this character named Juice that made him very worried about the name. It was a limited world, but one that showered Emilia in love and kindness.

And it was all ruined on the day the Elior Forest froze. The With Cult acted brutally as the witch named Pandora and the Cardinal appeared. The arrival of the Witchbeast Blacksnake, and Fortuna and Juice's tragedy. Emilia kept her mother's problems, and so lost both her and the village. Then Puck came, who she met upon awakening after a long time in ice.

"My aunt's name is Fortuna. She was the guardian of Elior Forest and took care of me when I was a child. She was like a mother to me. Juice was like a family to me as well." Emilia said with a smile, remembering to see them go together. "I noticed my aunt and Juice were very close. I always thought they would be perfect in the future until… the Witch Cult attacked my home."

Naruto was very familiar with Juice, or rather, his real name Petelgeuse Romanee-Conti. He was killed brutally by him. If he knew Petelgeuse was this good of a person… no, even if he was a good person he deserved what befell upon him. Either way, if he didn't kill the psycho, the kingdom would've.

But that begged the question. What caused him to twist into the monster he was?

"Emilia, what happened next?" Naruto asked.

"I couldn't find Juice…but I saw my aunt die in my arms…" Emilia said as she started to tremble, he could just hug her to comfort her, she decided to tell him, and while she made peace with her past that didn't mean that she liked it. "Then… I got angry and unleashed my power to freeze everything. My home. The elves. Myself. Everything just froze until a hundred years or more later, when Puck came and unfroze me." At this point, there was no stopping the tears.

Naruto found that being an empathic person sucked sometimes. He was crying with Emilia, her story touched his heart and made him wish for it to have a different ending. But alas, here they were.

"Naruto, don't cry." Emilia said as she wiped his tears with her thumb. She gave him an angelic smile to assure him she's okay and cupped her hands on his cheeks. "Puck took care of me until I met Roswaal who invited me to participate in the Royal Selection."

"It wasn't easy to get used to the glares from humans when I participated. Until… I met you, Naruto. A human who wasn't afraid of me. I haven't experienced this kind of love but you have shown me what it is. I'm so happy to have met you."

He decided to let his actions show how his emotions and, before he knew it, he was already kissing her deeply.

The world around them was no longer important, they both found their significant other to be their only concern. It felt heavenly for them both, especially for Emilia who now had a person that accepted her everything.

When they finished, they only looked at each other's eyes both smiling at their little kiss session. Then, Emilia smiled as she pulled Naruto to the head of the dancing floor. Her boyfriend didn't know how to slow dance, but he watched her instruct him to put his right hand on the middle of her back while his left hand was being held by her right hand.

The two love birds smiled and laughed at the fun they're having. As they're still dancing, Emilia closed her eyes and leaned into her boyfriend, resting her head on his chest and letting the thrum of his heartbeat lull her.

"Naruto."

"Yes?"

"Never leave my side again."

"I promise."

"Naruto… I love you."

"I love you too, Emilia. Are you crying?"

"It's nothing… Thank you."

Then, Naruto and Emilia continued to dance, smiling to each other until the party was over.

* * *

**I'm going to put ****isekai quartet in the next chapter or maybe at the end since it's short.**


	18. Chapter 18

An energetic girl sprinted at full speed, holding a person's hand in her two hands. Her long silver hair swept in beauty like butterflies. A beautiful smile crossed on her face and cannot be broken, showing how happy she was. Her amethyst eyes stared into azure eyes with a love expression. A half-elf couldn't stop her smile at her boyfriend how much fun she had.

"Emilia, slow down! You're making me drop Beatrice!" He spoke to the half-elf as he sprinted and held Emila's hand while he carried the little girl in his arms.

Emilia turned to look at him and finally realized he's carrying Beatrice. "I'm sorry Naruto. I couldn't hold my excitement." She said with a blush as she walked with him on his left side, still holding his hand.

"It's alright. I understand how happy you are, but you should slow for next time while I'm carrying Beatrice." Naruto said.

"I'm still here-kashira. You can't judge my size-kashira." Beatrice spoke as she was being carried by this man. Well, it was Naruto who invited her to join him and Emilia in the Capital of Lugnica.

Beatrice hasn't been to the capital before, so she accepted his invitation and went out with them. However, she was annoyed when she heard humans were whispering about Emilia's appearance of the witch. Emilia told her not to worry about people calling her the witch or Satella, but still, Beatrice would destroy them for calling her a witch. As Naruto contracted Artificial Spirit, she would do anything for his sake and Emilia's sake.

Anyways, right now, Beatrice found some interesting things that humans have in the market. They sell clothes, foods, jewels, and books which she likes to read. The books are her favorite because she wants to be quiet and peaceful in a quiet room.

"Do you want books?" Naruto asked as he noticed Beatrice's gazes stare at the books on the shop stand.

Beatrice heard him as she looked at him, but her gazes left him for the books. "Betty wants the book because the forbidden library got destroyed. But, I don't know what to choose. I only want an interesting book-kashira." She said as she searched for the book that interests her to read.

"Do you have a room where you can read quietly?"

"Don't worry. I will read the book in your room because I don't want to stay in Petra's room."

"Woah there! You want to read the book in my room where Emilia and I sleep together?"

"Yes, Betty wants to sleep with you and Emilia. I don't mind…if just you two…"

Beatrice's face turned burning red, planning to stay in Naruto's room so she can read the book peacefully. She saw Naruto scratches slightly on his red-colored cheek. "Naruto… Am I bothering you? Does Betty bother you?" She asked softly.

"No, you're fine dattabayo! I'm surprised you wanted to stay in my sleep. It was just… It was just…" Naruto didn't want to make everyone think he's a lolicon with small children. Just now, he sensed a disturbance in the force because he felt someone was watching him and laughing at him.

…

…

Damn Jiraiya! He's probably watching him do illegal things from heaven! Naruto wouldn't want to do this for his pervert sensei, but what's worse is his mom. His mom would kill him right now if she sees him do loli things.

"Wow Naruto! I didn't know you're into the books." Emilia said as she came to his side, holding a bag of fruits she brought from the market.

"I'm not into the book. Beatrice wanted to read the read-" Naruto said before his face was turned by Beatrice's hands as she pointed her finger at the book she wanted. He looked closer at the brown book and the title is called "The Sage's Watchtower".

"Oh my! It seemed like you're interested in this book." The shopkeeper said as he lifted the brown book and showed it to Naruto and Beatrice. "Do you want to buy it?"

Naruto replied to the shopkeeper with a 'yes' word and paid the book for Beatrice. After buying the book, Naruto, Emilia and Beatrice have moved on to different places. They're still in the shop, but a different one. This shop sells clothes, jewels, and glasses. However, things have gone wrong about glasses.

Emilia laughed at Naruto, pointing her finger at him that he wore oval glasses. She couldn't help herself but have to laugh at her boyfriend because he's too funny with ova glasses. She's the one that forced him to wear it for her and Beatrice. Oh yes, Beatrice laughed but she covered her mouth to hide it. The two girls laughed so hard and couldn't stop it.

"Emilia and Beatrice… do you have to laugh at me?" Naruto asked with arms crossed, sounding not as happy as he wore oval glasses. He frowned at the two girls that laughed at him.

"Haha… I'm dying… I-I'm seriously dying…hahaha!" Emilia laughed as she held her stomach while pointing her finger at her boyfriend.

"B-Betty c-can't stop…" Beatrice said, trying her best to stop her laugh at him. She had to look away from Naruto to hide her laugh.

Poor Naruto is getting laughed at by his girlfriend and his contracted Artificial Spirit. He looked down sadly with a rainy effect over his head, pouring over it.

"It was so funny. I thought I was going to die… Sorry, I didn't mean to laugh so much…" Emilia finally stopped laughing as she watched Naruto buy the glasses for everyone and placed them into a bag. When he approached, he still wore oval glasses before Emilia laughed at him again. "Stop! Naruto! That's cheating!"

Naruto took off his glasses and smiled at Emilia for being a silly girl. _"So cute."_ He thought as he reached his hand for her cheek, and she grabbed on his hand. She stroked his hand on her face, letting a cute giggle.

"Naruto, what are you doing?" She asked with a small laugh.

"I don't know. Just want to see your pretty smile and hear your pretty laugh." Naruto said.

"I do? That's so nice of you." She said as she tipped her toes, holding on his shoulder so she could kiss him. She kissed him on his lips lightly before she held his hand and smiled at him.

Beatrice, who is still carried by Naruto, she let out a snort in annoyance at them. "Can't we just leave here? I'm getting annoyed with humans…" She said as she held the new book in her arms.

"Alright, alright! We're done here." Naruto said.

* * *

"Welcome back, Naruto-kun." Rem greeted with a smile, seeing Naruto and the two girls come back from the market.

Naruto put Beatrice down as the little girl still held the new book and told him that she'll be reading in his room. The shinobi nodded to Beatrice, and she headed to his room so she could read it. After she left, Rem approached Naruto and helped him to carry the bags he brought.

"Rem, it's alright! I can do it." Naruto said as he held the bags, but they're being taken by Rem.

"Naruto-kun, that's alright. It's my job to help you." Rem said.

Both of them wanted to help each other, pulling the bags but they're gonna rip the bags apart. Emilia sighed at them, but smiled at them as she walked between them and pinched Naruto's ear.

"Ow! Ow! Ow! Emilia, why?!" He cried like a child as he showed a pout at his girlfriend. His girlfriend let go of his ear and smiled innocently at him as she kissed on his cheek to assure him not to cry.

"Hehehe… I may be your nice girlfriend, but I have my true self inside me. You don't want to get pinch again." Emilia giggled before she saw him turn away as he crossed his arms. "Naruto, you're such a cutie. I'm sorry for pinching you."

"That's better…" He said, still pouting at Emilia as he rubbed his ear where she pinched him. Damn woman! Since when did she become a mother-like?!

Emilia and Rem giggled at Naruto as they carried the bags and headed for the kitchen, leaving angry Naruto behind. After they left him, he planned to go see Beatrice who is supposed to be in his room and read her new book, but a cute maid approached him. The reddish brown-haired girl looked at Naruto with a 'please' expression on her face.

"Petra, what's up?" Naruto asked.

"N-Naruto-sama! Since I-I worked too hard, c-can you summon them?" Petra asked.

"Them? Oh! I get it! You want me to summon Bijuus." Naruto guessed as the maid nodded to him.

Well, Petra loved Kurama and the other eight Bijuus a lot. She had a great time with them and was not even scared of them when they're in full size after they were revealed.

Naruto looked at Kurama and everyone in the mindscape as they nodded. He bit his thumb to draw blood, mark on his other palm and did the handsigns until he stopped. "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" He said, palming on the floor to summon chibi Kurama and the eight Bijuus.

"Kurama!" Petra squealed as she lifted the orange fox and buried her face into the orange fur of his head. She then waved her hand at the other Bijuus.

**Kurama snorted of annoyance, glaring at Naruto who summoned him and the eight Bijuus. "I hate you." He said before giving him a middle finger but got slapped by Matatabi.**

**"Don't do that." She said, sounding a little protective of Petra.**

Shukaku laughed at Kurama really hard, but he got bodyslam by him as both of them attacked each other. They rolled over the floor, punching, biting, and beating shit each other until one of them wins. It wasn't too long as Petra picked Shukaku and Kurama up to avoid fighting.

"No. More. Fighting!" Petra said as she pulled them away from each other. "You two supposed to be best friend! Say sorry!"

**"Hell no/Fuck no!"**

**"Language!" Kokuo and Matabai said at the same time.**

Kurama and Shukaku snorted to each other as they turned away from each other. Naruto chuckled at them before he left to go to his room and see Beatrice.

* * *

"Naruto, I found interesting things in this book." Beatrice said, not looking at the blond shinobi that came in this room as she read her new book "The Sage's Watchtower".

Naruto closed the door behind him and walked toward Beatrice. When he sat on the floor with her, she crawled over and sat on his lap and continued reading the book.

"The Sage's Watchtower?" Naruto asked, looking at the book what Beatrice was reading until he saw the name "The Sage Shaula". He didn't seem to be familiar with the legend from 400 years ago.

"Betty doesn't seem to be familiar with the person's name "The Sage Shaula'. Even though I lived in 400 years, I never heard about her." Beatrice said, reading the book on the next page. "You seemed very interesting too, Naruto."

"Yes, that's interesting." Naruto said as he read the book with her until he stopped at Satella's name when he placed his finger on it.

His azure eyes narrowed in seriousness as he kept reading the book until he found the location of the seal. He heard about the Dragon, the Sword Saint, and the Sage was the one that sealed Satella in a shrine because she's unable to be killed. Well, Naruto found the location where the shrine was kept. It was on the east side in the Lugnica Kingdom, all the way until there was a desert. A watchtower place is called "Pleiades Watchtower" created by "Flugel" that is overseen by "Shaula".

According to the book, this must be where Satella sealed at. She is currently sealed in Evil Sealing Stone Shrine which was located at Pleiades Watchtower.

"Beatrice… so the location of Pleiades Watchtower is on the east side, right?" Naruto asked.

"Yes, it's on the east, but traveling there is ridiculous-kashira." Beatrice said.

"Have everyone visited there before?"

"I told you. I don't know anything about that place. This is my first time hearing this. According to the legend, Flugel left the watchtower and gave Shaula a task to guard. I believe that Shaula guards there for 400 years."

Naruto blinked his eyes about Shaula's age…and found out she guards there for 400 years which means she's 400 years old… This better not to be a little girl or teenage girl as his age because he's tired of this bullshit age! Beatrice is 400 years old and created by Echidna, but she had the body of the child!

Anyways, Naruto sighed and skipped that ridiculous thought about ages. Right now, he knew the location where Satella was and could go there to break the seal, but the problem is the world hates her if she's free. Remember, it was her Envy Witch Factors that almost destroyed the entire world and humans feared her. Reinhard would be there and face Satella or him because he's going to be the one that breaks the seal.

That would be his problem… Naruto will have to fight Reinhard, the most powerful knight in the world. Emilia wouldn't like to see them fight to the death because she never wanted to see the friends fight each other until one of them dies. As Emilia's knight and boyfriend, he swore he never hurt her feelings. He didn't want her to get involved in this.

"Naruto?" Beatrice noticed the man's dazed state and stares at the book.

"Sorry, too many thoughts." Naruto said as he shook his head. "So, what happened to Flugel after he left?"

"It never says. All I know is that Flugel left and never came back-kashira." Beatrice said as she closed the book and placed it on the floor. She looked into Naruto's eyes, checking him if he's alright or not. "Betty think you're not feeling too good. I think it'll be a good idea to tell Emilia."

"No, don't! I'm alright dattebayo!" Naruto said quickly, giving Beatrice a thumb up to assure her he's okay.

"Betty is worried. I am worried. You're not acting yourself after the trial is over." She said softly as she crossed her arms and stared at Naruto. "I know you're hiding something and I hope you're not doing stupid-kashira. But, I won't force you to tell me unless you want to. Perhaps you want to talk with Emilia."

Naruto nodded to Beatrice as he reached his hands out for her two ponytails, and she shrieked when he pulled them up gently. "Sorry, sorry! You're too fun for me to make fun of you." He chuckled.

"You always do that to me!" She said as she gave him a pout and crossed her arms.

"I said, 'I am sorry.' Jeez, there's no need to get angry with me." He smiled as both of them stood up, holding each other a hand like father and daughter.

* * *

"Oh myyyy~. What a surprise guestttttssss~." Roswaal greeted with a singing tone when he saw Naruto and Beatrice come into the room.

What happened after Naruto won a battle against Roswaal or destroyed him is Emilia ordered Naruto to spare Roswaal's life because he's the person that helped her for a long time. Naruto destroyed the Roswaal's gospel so he won't follow what it tells him to do. What he and everyone found more surprising though, is Ram confessed her feeling to Roswaal. That got them so much surprised.

So, Naruto healed Roswaal's wounds with Kurama's chakra and everything went back to normal. Roswaal apologized to Naruto and Emilia for his actions against them and what he did in the past.

Right now, Naruto and Beatrice sat on the couch. And of course, Beatrice sat down on his lap like always after she became Naruto's contract artifact spirit.  
"Beatrice, how was your life with Naruto-kun?" Roswaal asked politely.

"Betty has a good life with him. I, Beatrice, with my life, I will protect him no matter what cost." Beatrice said as her eyes are sharp, looking at Roswaal with her death stare. "Don't you ever make fun of Naruto or else I'll destroy you. Betty don't like your joke."

"Such a threattt~. I understand why you're attracted to Naruto-kun." Roswaal said as his gazes left Beatrice for Naruto. "Naruto-kun, I'm guessing that I know why you're here for?"

"Yes, I'm because I thought you know something about Shaula, or does your teacher Echidna know about her?" Naruto asked.

"Of course, she is Flugel's apprentice and a key figure in the sealing of the Witch of Envy 400 years ago. It has been 400 years since I heard Shaula's name. However, my teacher Echidna knows about Shaula. Perhaps, you should go ask her." Roswaal said as he looked at Naruto starts to leave the room. "What would you do, Naruto?"

Naruto glanced back to Roswaal for seconds before he began to open it, but the door was opened. His eyes widened slightly as he found a little girl with long red hair and dressed in a large white robe.

"Hello there, Naruto. I heard you want to meet me." The little girl said.

"Yes, Omega. I was looking for you, but you're here." Naruto called her name as he changed his mind to stay in the same room.

Omega sat next Naruto, holding his arm with a smile on her face. "What? You said yes to me. Don't tell me you don't remember." She said with a pout as Naruto frowned at her.

Naruto twitched one of his eyes at Omega, remembering he let her join with him for an adventure. Actually, Omega is Echidna because her body is possessed by her. After Naruto let her join with him, things weren't too good about that when he took her to capital because...

_"WHAT DO YOU MEAN I'M TOO YOUNG TO DRINK?!" Echidna (Omega) yelled at Naruto in the restaurant with people inside._

_"I told you… there's a law that you can't drink the tea because you chose a child's body." He said. "Can you stop yelling?"_

_"I-Impossible! I am Echi-" _

_Naruto paused her by covering her mouth with his hand. "Quiet! You can't reveal your name." He said quietly as the pink-haired girl sat back and crossed her arms in disappointment. _

_Well, that's a really bad idea to take Echidna to the restaurant because she wanted to drink tea. Unfortunately, she can't drink because she possessed Lewes's body. _

_"Aren't you a little bit young for drinking tea, little girl?" A customer asked._

_"Oh no…" Naruto mumbled in fear, but it's too late to stop the fight. If someone called Echidna a little girl, she could-_

_"FUCK YOU! MOTHERFUCKER! ASSHOLE!" Echidna yelled as she unleashed her anger, trying to kill a person that called her. But, her body was held by Naruto as his arms hooked on her arms…._

"Hey, hey! That was a couple days ago." Echidna said with a fake laugh, but she sounded so awkward.

"That was your fault for choosing Lewes's body." Naruto said as he crossed his arms.

"B-But, you brought the tea powder for me! I can drink tea at home, so… HA!"

"Really, girl?"

"Really!"

Naruto shook his head before he looked at Echidna again and wanted to talk with her in private. He saw her head nods as she asked Roswaal and Beatrice to leave the room. When the two left the room, now it's just Naruto and Echidna.

"Naruto, I know why you wanted to ask me." Echidna said with a serious tone as she looked at Naruto. "That is a grave mistake you're making. You want to go Pleiades Watchtower, so you could break the seal and let Satella out."

"Yes." Naruto answered boldly. "And, I'm serious about breaking the seal for Satella. You and I both know about her. I destroyed her witch factor, so she won't able to use it anymore."

"I heard and seen it, but even you set her free, the world is still fear her." She said.

"I know… That's why I want to free her and find the person who was behind her life. No matter how much cost for me to get there whatever they tried to me, I won't give up until I save Satella." He said as he clenched his fist.

Echidna sighed at the stubborn man in this room and couldn't help it, but have to give him information. "There was a person who could be the mastermind behind Satella's life." She said as Naruto looked at her before she continued. "I believe you knew Emilia's backstory. The Witch Cult that attacked her home is Regulus and Pandora."

"Pandora? Who is that?" He asked.

"I'm a little familiar with her, but haven't met her before. I would describe her to be the Witch of Vainglor. If I'm correct about Emilia's past, Pandora seeks her for some unknown purpose that involves a seal deep in Elior Forest. I wouldn't count on her power because she brought Regulus to accompany her to attack Elior Forest, so she could find the seal."

"Do you know what kind of seal?" Naruto asked.

"Never heard the history of Elior Forest very well. I heard and read about it, but don't get to know what kind of sealing what they have. However, it must be very important to Pandora. She seemed to know so much about Emilia's parents"

Hearing Emilia's parents, Naruto shot his eyes to widen in shock as he looked at Echidna. "Wh-What? Emilia's parents? She didn't tell me about her parents… wait, does she remember them?" He asked.

"No backstory of her parents, but when Pandora talks about Emilia's parents, it could be confirmed that she killed them-"

*CRACK* Echidna stopped as she saw Naruto break the cup with his hand, unleashing Kyuubi's chakra when his azure eyes turned red demon eyes. His sharp teeth. His whiskers. His wild hair. His red chakra. He's really pissed.

He may not have Kurama with him, but he still has his chakra. Naruto is really angry when he finds out Pandora killed Emilia's parents and her aunt, Fortuna. Actually, he's also angry with Regulus for attacking Eilor Forest. He won't forgive them for making Emilia's cry.

"You should calm down otherwise Emilia will get worried about you-" Echidna's eyes turned serious when she paused as she looked at Naruto, he's releasing familiar the shape of hands. Those hands… They're Unseen Hands.

This isn't good here because Naruto's anger took over his mind, thinking about Emilia's life. Echidna forgot that he had Unseen Hands from Petelgeuse after he killed him and took his ability without realizing it. If Naruto keeps this up, he could destroy everyone when the Unseen Hands touches them. If he releases the Unseen Hand in here, everyone could sense and should be here in any seconds now.

At that moment, the door slammed by the kick and it appeared to be Emilia who kicked it. She had her magic ready so quick, scanning for the enemy who had the witch aura. However, it turned out she didn't find it, but she found a person who had the witch aura that made her shocked. It was revealed to be indeed Naruto who had the witch aura.

"Emilia, you came at the right time. You better stop him or else he'll end up hurting everyone." Echidna said.

Emilia didn't have much time to ask her, so she ran in front of Naruto as she began to comfort him. Looking at his face, he was filled with rage, sorrow, and agony. That face hurt her heart and made her wonder why. However, it wasn't long as she figured out that Naruto learned about her story and her homeland.

"Naruto, I don't know what made you so angry. But, please stop this. You're hurting yourself." She said, holding her boyfriend's face to make him look into her eyes. "Please… Naruto. Please…" Her voice reached into Naruto's mind as his red eyes turned back normal and the witch magic was gone for now.

When he went back to normal, he saw Emilia's face in this close as he felt her smooth and warm skin on his face. He returned them by holding her hands, but he made a face of a sorry expression at her. Naruto let his anger take over his mind because Regulus and Pandora attacked Emilia's homeland and killed her family. He began to speak, but his mouth was touched by Emilia's finger to stop him before apologizing.

However, Naruto lost his consciousness as his body fell into Emilia's body when she caught him before hitting the floor. Emilia was wondering why Naruto had the witch miasma and how he got Authority magic of Unseen Hands.

* * *

It has been a few hours lately since Naruto collapsed after unleashing his anger and Unseen Hands. Kurama and the eight bijuus have to return for him, so Kurama could use his chakra to heal his mind.

Emilia sat on the chair, watching Naruto rested on the bed silently as she held his hand. When she sensed witch miasma, she sprinted immediately upstairs and prepared her magic to fight. But, it was Naruto who had the witch miasma. Beatrice and Echidna explained to her everything that Naruto has Authority of Sloth which belongs to Petelgeuse. She didn't know what Echidna told him, got him so angry because he found out who attacked Elior Forest.

Emilia didn't know Naruto had that magic, and he didn't tell her that. However, she believed Naruto didn't realize he had it with him and could use Unseen Hand.

That face he made...was so angry and agony, but when he calmed, he was hurt and sorrow. It broke her heart when she met his demonic face with red eyes because he didn't want her to see his face like that.

"Emilia…?"

Emilia lighted up and looked at Naruto, fully awakened with his open eyes. "Naruto!" She said in relief as she approached him and stopped him when she saw him getting up. "You mustn't get up. Take a rest." She managed to force him to sit back on the bed.

"Right…" Naruto remembered he got angry and used Unseen Hands as he gritted his teeth for letting that, and she saw it, didn't she? "Emilia… did you see it?" He asked her as his gazes met her.

"Yes." The half-elf answered. "Echidna and Beatrice told me everything. I didn't know you have Authority of Sloth, but I think you knew you have it."

"Yeah, they told me that I have it. But, I never used Authority of Sloth before… until I used it today because I… I…"

"Naruto, don't." She interrupted him by reaching her hand out to Naruto before she saw his tears, flowing down. "Naruto, why do you look like you're in so much pain?" Her fingers stroked against his cheek, from there gliding toward his eyes.

Her pale fingertips skim the corner of his eye, tracing over the welling tears, and Naruto realized that he is this close to crying. He didn't know why, but for sure, he had some reasons. His anger. His pain. His suffering. When he learned Emilia's homeland got attacked, he let it go of three words.

Emilia softly took Naruto's body in a hug. Her thin clothes allow them to feel each other's warmth. The quiet beating of her pulse, transmitted through to him, fills his heart with more fullness than does the heat of her body.

"It's alright. It's alright, Naruto. I'm not scared." She comforted her loved one, doing her best to be there for him.

Feeling Emilia's warmth, her pulse, her tenderness, Naruto let go of his emotions and admitted he's crying as he wrapped his arms around her waist. He couldn't help but felt so ashamed to himself for being reckless because he wanted to save Satella. He wanted to kill Pandora for killing Emilia's family and aunt.

He was being a stupid guy for planning to break the seal for Satella when he learned the location. But, he wouldn't want the world to hate her and Emilia so much because both of them are the same. This type of path would lead him into a wrong path. He would've created big chaos and caused Emilia a big mess.

"Emilia?"

"Yes?"

"Thank you… I'm...sorry..."

"Hehe… You are always welcome to my hug."

"Sounds pretty promising… You're warm, Emilia… Can I?"

"Of course… Whenever you need it."

* * *

"Naruto-sama! How do I do?!" Petra asked with a happy face, combing the young man's spiky hair with a comb.

"It feels so nice. This is my first time getting my hair brushed by a girl." He smiled while looking back at Petra and Frederica, who stood behind her. "You taught her well, Frederica. I didn't know you had hairbrush skill."

Receiving Frederica's giggle, she walked in front of him and sat on the couch with a smile on her face. "It was my mother who taught me how to comb hair." She said as she remembered her mother combed her long hair when she was a child.

She grabbed the teacup and drank it while watching Petra comb Naruto's hair. Her smile. Her life. Frederica knew that Petra is in love with Naruto. Thinking of it as good and bad. She wanted Petra to find happiness, but Naruto's heart belonged to Emilia. However, Petra is willing to do her best to make him happy.

So, that's why Petra wanted to be hired because she wanted to repay Naruto for saving her life. But, she is too young to have him as her boyfriend and needs more years to have him.

"Ok, Naruto-sama! It's all done!" Petra said with a smile as she finished her work and stepped back. However, she perked up as she went for the drawer and grabbed the headband. "Here you go, Naruto-sama." She gave him his headband back after she took it off.

"Thank you, Petra." He smiled, wrapping his headband as he gave Petra a head pat. His gaze left Petra for Frederica. "So, how was your brother's training?"

"He's doing fine because of your training. He's improving his hand-to-hand combat skills and his beast form that really needed how to control it." Frederica said with a smile as she remembered watching her brother get trained by Naruto. She's really glad that Naruto agreed to train with Garfiel, so he could grow stronger and better.

When Naruto got up after this, he stretched out his arms and saw Rem when she came into the living room. She waited for him to get his hairbrush by Petra, so he approached her and delivered a smile at her.

Both of them shared their same smiles with each other as they began to walk where they should be heading to.

"Where are heading to, Naruto-kun?" Rem asked.

"We're heading to Crusch's mansion. I want to see how her training with Wilhelm goes." The blond shinobi said as both of them went outside. He scooped Rem in his arms like a princess style.

Speaking of her weight, she was very light. Emilia's and Rem's weight is the same weight that Naruto carried before. Pretty impressive that their weight is the same.

"Naruto-kun? Why are you staring at me like that?" Rem asked with a blush, noticing his eyes stare at her body.

"It's nothing. Let's just head to Crusch's mansion." Naruto said.

* * *

A loud noise when the two wooden swords clashed with each other. A great force surprised Rem and Felt, who were watching the fights between Naruto and Crusch. Next to them was the old swordsman, Wilhelm, watching them fight. Scanning Crush's fighting style, she had gotten better and better than when she lost her memories. Her memories have grown which means her sword skills are returning back.

Crusch slid on the ground and stopped it as she stood on her feet, breathing slowly to regain her strength from her fight with Naruto. The shinobi didn't break a sweat after they had been fighting for 10 minutes. This is her first time fighting him and experienced how it felt fighting the shinobi. His power is on a different level. He could beat Sword Demon, Wilhelm in one on one battle.

She gripped her wooden sword as she lifted it into a knight stance and charged toward Naruto. She swung the wooden sword, hitting on his side but his wooden sword blocked her attack. He began to slash her, but she blocked and leaped back from him. However, she dashed back to him and hit on his wooden sword, attempting to break it as she could with everything she had.

Her wooden sword is breaking Naruto's wooden sword when she hears the crack noise. Crusch was ready to break and win it, but Naruto read her mind as he jumped away from her. He created the clones himself of five to fight Crusch. However, she was glad to fight against five of them, accepting her new challenge.

Crusch dodged and blocked every one of their attacks whenever she saw. When she deflected one of their attacks, she used pommel to wreck the clone's head and slashed right over the chest. She kicked another clone in the stomach, thrust directly right in the chest as the clone died. Crusch saw the other last ones that were going to attack from the air. So, she used Hundred-Man Strike to strike her enemies down because they're the clones.

After killing all of the clones, she saw the real Naruto come in the air, striking her by a thrust with his wooden sword. His blade was enhanced with the wind chakra. The amber eyes narrowed in sharpness as she did an enhanced too. She used Hundred-Man Strike and prepared to clash Naruto's enhanced wooden sword before they did. Clashing with such wind power, blowing only Rem and Ferris except Wilhelm who stood on his feet.

When the smoke is gone, it seems like there's a winner here. Crusch stood on the ground, holding her wooden sword up against Naruto's wooden sword, but his blade was shorter than the long was because his blade was cracked while fighting Crusch and had his blade broken by her blade.

"Nice job, Crusch. You're a quick learner." Naruto smirked before he caught her body when he saw her fall.

Rem and Ferris ran toward them to check on them. Ferris checked Crusch first and already began to heal her as her water magic glowed. The woman is just exhausted from her sparring match with Naruto. It was a great sparring match.

Ferris looked at Rem who stood next to Naruto, trying to help him, but he's okay and didn't want to heal for himself. Seeing the shinobi like his normal state, he didn't break a sweat because he was holding back his strength, not using magic however, he used the clones against her. Crusch took all of the clones without having a problem and managed to defeat him.

"Naruto and Crusch-sama. The match was very entertaining." Wilhelm said with a smile as he gave the two fighters applause. Right now, he focused on Naruto. "Naruto, I would like to thank you for accepting Crusch-sama's request."

"You're welcome dattebayo." Naruto smiled while scratching the back of his head as he looked at Crusch. "Crusch is getting better and better. You trained her well, Wilhelm."

"Indeed, I have to agree with Naruto-kun's thought. You have trained Crusch-sama well, so she can handle and defend herself against her opponent." Rem said.

"Please, don't praise me too much. It was Crusch-sama's request who asked me to train her because she wanted to be a strong person and didn't want to forget her old self." Wilhelm said as he looked at Crusch and Ferris. "Ferris was very protective of Crusch-sama when I accepted her request because he didn't want her to fight after she lost her memories. But, this is for Crusch-sama's sake so I can't deny her request. It was her decision."

Naruto frowned about Crusch's decision as his fists were clenched, but Wilhelm had a point. This is Crusch's choice to keep on fighting even though she lost her memories, but she stills going for it and wouldn't give up her goal.

To Crusch's decision, Naruto sighed with a smile as his eyes were closed and reopened in seconds. He couldn't help it but had to give her hope. If Crusch made her decision, he would leave her alone and won't complain. However, since they reformed alliance, Naruto would still help her and bring her memories no matter what it cost.

"Naruto?" Wilhelm asked.

"Yes, what is it?" He asked.

"I was wondering if I could talk with you alone."

"Sure. Rem, could you stay with Ferris and Crusch while I'm gone."

"Of course, Naruto-kun." The blue-haired maid said.

* * *

"I see. You have come from a different world where shinobi lived." Wilhelm said as he learned that Naruto isn't from here after he told him. "But, I am sorry how your life ended up. You lived by yourself without knowing your parents passed away until you found out."

"There's no need to apologize, Wilhelm. I may have been through pain and hardship, but I'm happy that I made friends and have a chance to see my parents. My dad and mom's souls are in my heart." Naruto smiled, placing his hand on the heart. "They told me they believe in me."

When Wilhelm looked into the azure eyes, they were filled with love and passion that showed him he loved his parents. His eyes are mostly like Theresia van Astrea's eyes because both of their eyes have the same feelings. No wonder why he was interested in Naruto because he's just like her.

The old swordsman smiled at Naruto, it was kind, soft, and gentle. He had to respect him so much because he's the one who opened his eyes and his heart. A strange thought Wilhelm made is Naruto was like a new son to him.

"Naruto, how did it feel meeting your parents in person after 17 years?" Wilhelm asked.

"Well, I met my father first. When I met him, I punched right in his stomach because I was really mad. He sealed Kurama inside me because he believed I could control his power. I'm the son of Fourth Hokage, so I could handle it. Then, I met my mother. She was the kind, gentle, and strong ninja I ever met. Both of them gave their life for me when I was a born baby." Naruto smiled, remembering the faces of his parents. "They filled me up with love before they put Kurama in me. You can see how happy I am. I'm glad I ended up being their son."

His smile. His aura. His warmth. Even though his parents sealed Kurama in their son, he still forgave them because they gave their lives for him. Wilhelm had to give them so much praise for saving their son with their life.

"Wilhelm, maybe you should talk with your grandson."

Naruto's voice snapped him out of his thoughts as he looked at the blond man. "Talking with my grandson? I don't think it's a good idea for talking with my grandson." He said.

"Listen, Ferris told me everything about you and Reinhard. I don't fully understand the reasons for the poor relationship between you and your grandson, so I might be a misunderstanding. But in the eyes of an outsider, you should talk with him and fix the relationship." Naruto said with a smile as he put his hands behind his head. "You know, your wife wouldn't like to see you sad and your sad relationship with your grandson."

Wilhelm stared at the blond shinobi with a surprised expression. "My wife?" He asked.

"Yes, before her final death comes, I'm sure she would have given you some final words. She didn't want you to be a sad person. She wanted you to be a happy person just for her because she believed you could fix the family." Naruto closed his eyes, not looking Wilhelm into his eyes. "I understand you were supposed to be the one that has to go, but it'll break the family. Thearesia had to go because she had to. Maybe she knew her death would come. She wanted you to take the sword up because you take it up to protect someone. However, you aren't protecting someone. It is you, who is always being protected."

Naruto's words just now had surprised Wilhelm, who widened his eyes as if he's shocked. Time seemed to be flowing by with the wind. Then, after a moment of silence between the two, Wilhelm saw the light of Naruto in his vision. Naruto wore a white cloak and white straw hat. His appearance was much older than his current age.

"Wilhelm, are you okay?" Naruto noticed his blue eyes staring at him before his voice brought him out of his mind. The old swordsman looked at him.

"I'm fine, Naruto. It was nice to have Emilia's knight care about me. Thank you." He said as he began to bow to Naruto, but he stopped him. The blond grabbed his arms, giving him a kind smile.

"There was no need to, Wilhelm. I'm doing it because I wanted to." Naruto said.

After hearing Naruto's reply, Wilhelm stood up. He looked at the young man, nodding to him. "Again. Thank you for your kind words, Naruto. Is this what my wife is telling me? I will follow her heart. I will believe her words." He said with a smile.

* * *

Rem breathed for the air as she watched the moon in her blue pajamas. She had to admit, everything was changing so much. With the hero of Konoha to Lugnia, he saved a lot of people. The villagers of Irlam praised him and Emilia for saving their lives because they promised that they would defend them from the Witch Cult and freed them from Sanctuary's barrier. However, not only did they save them, but they also saved Demi-humans.

She got scared when Naruto was imprisoned in the tomb. She cried and thought he would be gone forever. Her worst fear is losing him who has been with her in her life because he's special to her. She confessed her feelings to Naruto, but she knew they wouldn't be a perfect couple in the future. She believed Naruto and Emilia would be perfect because they're the same.

Naruto was a good person to her. He was the only human who understands her life and Emilia's life, and much more understandable than everyone.

Rem sighed to herself as she stared at the moon.

Staring at the moon, she heard a knocking on the door in her room. She was wondering who it was, but she's going to find out. She walked to the door, opened the door, and surprised her when she found Naruto, who came in this late with his normal clothes.

"Naruto-kun, why are you doing here so late? Why are you dressing like that?" Rem asked while observing his appearance, and she wondered again why he came to her room late.

"I knew you're awake, which caught in my emotion sensor. I thought I could visit your room, wanting to make sure you're okay." Naruto smiled as he peeked over her shoulder, noticing the window door was opened. He guessed that Rem must have been watching outside for air or staring at the moon. "You like watching the moon? Mind if I join you?" He asked her.

"Of course, Naruto-kun." Rem said with a smile as she grabbed his hand without thinking, pulled him outside so they could watch the moon together. But, she realized she held his hand and let go of him, having a blush across her cheeks.

It has been a while since they broke up when Rem told Naruto that his heart belonged to Emilia. However, they're still talking to each other and together.

"Beautiful, isn't it?"

"Huh?" Rem looked at Naruto, who enjoyed the breeze with a smile on his face.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" He repeated.

"Yes, it is beautiful. I always liked to watch the moon with my sister when we were little. You know, I always wanted to fly up in the sky so I could see the close of the moon and stars." Rem said with a smile, wishing she could fly up just like her dream. She dreamed about flying in the sky with the angel who carried her and showed her the world.

She wished she could fly like him, but it's sad that this was just a dream. It would be very nice if someone could fly her or she could have flying magic.

"In that case, we could do that." Naruto smiled as he climbed over the railing, his body transformed into Rikudou Sennin mode and started to levitate. He saw Rem's surprised expression, but that didn't make him stop.

He extended a hand to her with a smile on his face.

Rem stared at his hand, but she left it for his face. She…recognized his face before. His black stripes. His yellow coat. His gentle smile. They're the same, just like her dream where she met the angel. This cannot be… So, the angel she met was Naruto Uzumaki.

Was this a dream? Is this real?

Without question, she reached out slowly and grabbed Naruto's hand, and he started to levitate higher and higher into the air. His feet left the ground as she was pulled into the air with him, and with ease he pulled her up so that she was floating next to him. He wrapped his arms around her waist, and stared up at the cloud. Rem clung to his yellow coat while staring at the mansion as she began to fly up higher into the air.

Rem was amazed when both of them flew up higher because she saw the Kingdom of Lugnica with lights. She saw the birds fly past them. She couldn't help it but had to break her excitement at it. She felt amazing, exciting, and happy in her life.

"Do you like it?" Naruto's gentle voice asked her.

"This is amazing! I-I can't believe we're actually flying!" Rem said with excitement.

"That's good. I'm happy you like it." He smiled as he reached for her hand and raised up into the cloud to touch it. He saw Rem's smile again, and she enjoyed touching the cloud. Seeing her, it made him smile along with her.

Rem's eyes were still in amazement and couldn't stop her feelings because flying in the sky is so beautiful. She never thought that Naruto could make her dream come true. She couldn't believe that angel is Naruto who flew her up into the air in her dream. Her dream has come true.

She finally got to look at the moon in this close.

The sound of nature around them was the music, the changing winds had a soft beat to it. The moon above them, and provided the background for them.

At that moment, Rem started to cry as she picked a tear from her eye and looked at it. She was confused about why she had them. Was it because she was emotionally damaged? But, she understood why she cried because of love. She felt her heartbeat for Naruto.

Her heart was connected to his heart, and felt so many of his emotions. She saw the images of the loves of people who were family and friends. This is what his life looks like in his world. Friends. Family.

"Rem, no matter how much you suffer. No matter how much pain you get. I will always be in your heart. You will always be in my heart. I won't forget what you did for me and Emilia. You deserve it so much." Naruto smiled as he used his thumb to clean her tears. "I want you to be happy for me. I want you to stay beside me. I won't stop until you show me your smile, Rem."

"Naruto-kun…" Rem said softly with tears as she grabbed his hand that was on her cheek. She held his hand before he could move his hand away from her because she wanted to feel his warmth.

"Rem, tell me what's wrong? Are you scared that I'll be gone forever?" Naruto asked.

"Y-Yes… When Emilia-sama told me that you were gone, I got so scared. I didn't know what to do… I thought you were gone forever. I...I didn't want to lose you." The blue-haired oni said as her fists tightened into his coat, and her head landed on his chest. She buried her face into his chest, crying over his black jumpsuit.

"But, I am here. Right here. A hero carried a young beautiful girl."

Rem raised her head and looked surprised at Naruto, who called her beautiful. "B-But, I'm not beautiful, Naruto-kun. I'm not a princess or the others. I'm just a maid, but I don't understand. I told you that you and Emilia are perfect for the future. You two are matched. I don't want to ruin it. Why… someone like me?" She asked, more tears flowing down as she couldn't understand why he likes her after they broke up.

She already told Emilia the truth that she fell in love with Naruto and wanted her to make a promise. A promise that Emilia and Naruto would become a couple in the future.

"I still love Emilia, but she told me everything that you did for me and her. She and I talked about you until she decided, wanting me to be with you. Rem… I want you. To visit my world with me and Emilia together if I ever find a way to go back. You're the person that can make me smile from my sadness." He said, releasing his best smile ever. "I promised that you would see your sister again or she could come along. Rem, would you like to visit my home?"

The blue-haired oni widened her eyes with shock, covering her mouth with her hands, feeling extremely shocked that he wanted her to visit his world. "Y-Yes! Yes, yes, yes! Yes, Naruto-kun! I would love to go with you!" She embraced him, wrapping her arms around his neck, causing both of them to change their flying position into a lying position.

Her voice was full of happiness, she let go of her emotions when she heard such a sweet offer from Naruto. She may have broken up with him, but it has been a rewrite of the love story. She was so glad to herself that she still has a feeling for Naruto because her feelings haven't given up.

She allowed her body to give into the warm embrace.

"Thank you, Naruto-kun."

"You're welcome, Rem."

For the rest of the night, they embraced with warm feelings, enjoying the sky and the moon.

* * *

"Aww… How very sweet. The half-elf made her first friend with a human." She said, sounding soft and gentle. "What is his name, Ley? I want to meet him in person. A person who took away Petelgeuse's Authority of Sloth."

"Oh my! Oh my! He was so delicious! His memories were so delicious! When I eat the victim's memory, the man's name is Naruto Uzumaki!" Ley said as he sharpened his blade, having drool from his mouth. "I wanted to eat him so bad, but it's too bad that I didn't get to eat him! He was strong! Too strong! But, my meal is gone!"

"It seemed like she found a friend with greater power." She smiled, licking her own lips. "I would love to meet him."

"No! No! And no! Oh no you don't!" Another woman yelled in rage, glaring at her who attempted to meet him. "He's mine! You will stay away from my dear lover! I want to see him first! You won't get him before me!" She threatened the woman.

Her mouth turned up into a grin, giving the woman in bandages a sorry expression. "Ahh. Forgive me. I forgot you're still in love with Petelgeuse. You can go see him as your desire." She said.

"That's what I thought! Nobody touches him before me!"

The one woman grinned again as her dark blue eyes stared at the moon, reaching her hand for it. "Naruto Uzumaki, the man who slayed Hakugei and Oousagi. A half-elf's best knight in the world." She said as she played with her platinum long hair. "This is getting very interesting."

* * *

**Special Chapter 1**

"Wh-What is this place?" asked Ainz, a looking skeleton with gold and a purple cloak. It covered his entire body except his skull is exposed.

"This seems to be a different world than our own." said Demiurge, wearing a red suit with light white stripes. He's described to be a demon with dark skin and nicely combed black hair.

Ainz placed his hands on his skull, looking so nervous but he was familiar with this place. "W-Wait, did we just get transported to another world?!" He thought before he heard someone say, "Excuse me" as he turned to the girl with blue long hair.

When he turned around to her, she got scared of him suddenly as she ran to her group. While the teenage guy with brown hair gave a think about this place because he was familiar with this.

I'm back? But something seems different…" said Kazuma, a teenage guy with brown hair.

"Hey! Hey! Kazuma! Kazuma! Kazuma, look over there! That's an undead!" said Aqua, a girl with blue hair and blue clothes as she pointed her finger at Ainz.

"And it's got monsters with it! Our resistance is about to prove futile as they have their wicked way with us…" said Darkness, a young woman with yellow armor.

Ainz and his group were standing while they're watching them argue with each other about them. To Ainz's impression, he could probably think that they came from another world. But, the teenage boy with brown didn't seem to be one of them.

Anyways, he's nothing important. More importantly, he needed to know what world he is in because the building and field are very familiar to him.

"IT'S TIME FOR THE CLASS TO START!"

A loud strong voice was heard for everyone to look at the soldier guy with a black army service uniform. The minutes later, everyone is sitting on their chair with a desk in the classroom except the young blond child girl with a service uniform. The other people dressed the same as her uniform.

_"What's going on here? What is this place? This place is familiar, but I have to remember!"_ thought Tanya, a child with a service uniform. _"You were born in a world of scientific civilization and grew up in one of the ethical and moral nations on the planet. You were a businessman, a superior being in both the social and biological senses." _She thought to herself as she remembered how she got here.

Tanya remembered she pushed the red button that she got from the professor. Then, she got sent in here and met the fantasy characters that were in the classroom with her.

"Um, I think it's really bad to run in the hallways."

"It's Garfiel's fault that we had to run."

"How is this my fault!? That's Ram's fault for pressing the damn button!"

Tanya and everyone heard the voices from outside in the hallways. They watched until the door was slid by the blond boy with a scar on his forehead. When he opened, he saw new faces in the classroom looking at him like they think he's a new classmate. Some people that were behind him are half-elf, two maids, and the little blond girl.

"There's more of them!" Ainz thought as he placed his hands on his forehead.

"Ainz-sama, let's slaughter them all." whispered Albedo, a beautiful woman with black hair and dressed in white.

"Wait. First, we need to gather information." He said.

"Hurry, Naruto! We found our classroom!"

"Wait! What did she say?!" Kazuma shocked as he slammed on the desk when he heard a familiar name.

The silver-haired half-elf pulled a person's arm into the classroom, revealing a familiar blond man to everyone. His blond hair is spiky and his eyes are blue. He wore a black headband and wore black-orange clothes.

"I see you found our classroom, Emilia." The blond man said with a smile as Emilia smiled at him.

…

…

…

"NO WAY! Y-YOU'RE NARUTO UZUMAKI!" Kazuma shouted like a fan as he dashed to him instantly, grabbing his hand to shake it. "I-I-I-I watched your show and read your manga! Oh my god! I cannot believe you're real! I'm Kazuma Sato! I'm your big fan!"

Ainz dropped his jaws and realized that person is Naruto Uzumaki, a real Naruto Uzumaki. _"Th-That's impossible! He's here! In here! Is this for real!? I'm a huge fan of him!"_ He thought.

"Uhh… I'm sorry, but how do you know my name?" Naruto asked with a confused expression.

"Everyone knows you! You're Naruto Uzumaki, the hero of Konoha! The best-manga in the world! Kishimoto Masashi created a character of you! I'm your biggest fan! You're the best!"

"Naruto, do you know this person?" Emilia asked.

"No, I don't know this person." Naruto said.

_"What a minute! Since when did Kishimoto put half-elf in Naruto manga?! Is this the sequel!? I know I've been stuck in the game a while, but since when? Did Kishimoto finish the manga?_" Ainz thought.


	19. Chapter 19

**Credits to ****XPartan Caos for grammar, editing, and word choices.**

* * *

He broke into a sprint, launching himself forward. He gritted his sharp teeth and punched right into someone's arm, but the arm blocked his punch without a problem. Not deterred, he shot his leg against the head of his opponent, trying to end the fight with a knockout. His plan was interrupted when the other hand of his attacker took ahold of his leg.

The next seconds were a blur. He felt himself fly through the air with the speed of a bullet and then halt immediately when a rock got in his way making him gasp in pain and fall on his ass. He shook his head and looked at the silhouette of his attacker. He snarled at him, his fangs growing sharper and his spiky hair becoming even spikier. In an instant, his body grew larger and his skin was covered in golden fur. He roared to the heavens and charged again. He raised his fist and delivered a powerful punch against his opponent, cracking the earth beneath him.

Jade eyes looked at him mockingly when the dust finally cleared, his mouth was twisted into a fanged smirk. His opponent once again took a hold of him and began to slam him against the ground multiple times as if he weighed nothing. This continued until he could no longer move a muscle.

Even though he was badly hurt, his fighting spirit never wavered, he attempted to get up in vain, but his muscles were in too much pain. His opponent laughed at his determination, not mocking him, but pleased with his willingness to get up. The last thing he knew before blacking out was his opponent jumping insanely high and a flash of him falling on his chest with brutal force.

"G….ld… Garfi… Garfiel!" His vision began to return to him when he felt water splash against his body. He tried to get up but found that his body wouldn't answer him.

"Great fight, Garfiel. You're getting better at controlling your beast form." Naruto said, watching the blond boy slowly regain his consciousness. He grabbed his arm, wrapping it around his neck and his shoulder as he lifted him to his feet.

"Fuck! Fuck! That hurt! You hit me hella hard, captain!" Garfiel said, his face twisted with pain.

Naruto had to laugh at him, he was the one who told him to not go easy on him. "Anyways, that was a good fight, you're certainly improving" He smiled.

"It's been 4 months and I'm not getting any closer to beating you though."

"But even if you can't beat me, you haven't given up. That is the best way to grow stronger, and who knows? Maybe in some years, you'll be able to surpass me. You're very young right now, give yourself time to grow."

The two blonds grabbed their shirts and walked until they reached the Miload mansion.

When he told Naruto that he needed help to control his beast form, the blond said that he understood his situation and made him use it. He was very afraid at the beginning but his captain said he could handle it, so they began their training. He now could enter his beast form at will and control it as long as he remained calm. That was a disadvantage on itself because he needed the rush of adrenaline his anger gave him to fight properly in his beast form, but that was a work in progress.

Several minutes later, they made it to their new mansion, surrounded by many trees. Shrubs grew in abundance throughout the verdant mountains. They felt the cool breeze wash over their bangs as they found a blue-haired maid waiting for their return.

"Welcome back, Naruto-kun and Garfiel-san. How was your training?" Rem asked politely with a smile.

"It was great." Naruto smirked as he looked at Garfiel. _"He's getting better faster than I expected."_

"Damn right, I am!" Garfiel yelled in determination, but he quickly held his stomach in pain.

"He's quite a stubborn guy. I'll give him that." Naruto said as he looked at Rem. "Rem, where's Emilia?"

"She's inside studying the candidates in the office room. Do you want me to inform her you're looking for her?" She asked.

"Nah, it's better to let her study." He said as he looked up when a pink-haired maid walked outside a room. "Hello there, Ram."

"Hello, Naruto and Garfiel." Ram said as she approached them only to recoil when their smells hit her. She covered her nose and mouth with her hand. "You too stink! You need a bath!"

When Garfiel was going to complain, Ram smacked him with a broom. She now wore a white mask. Where did she get that? He didn't know.

He was going to take a bath since he knew he smelled, damned jinchuriki senses. He was heading there, but he stopped when he noticed Rem staring at him. Her face was red and she was fidgeting, it made him wonder why.

"Rem? Are you okay?" Naruto asked as he approached her, snapping his fingers to wake her up.

"S-Sorry, Naruto-kun. Forgive me for staring at you…" Rem paused, she couldn't hide her embarrassment while staring at his body.

"Did something happen to my body?" Naruto asked as he looked for some sort of injury.

"N-Nothing happened! You should go to the bathroom." Rem said as he nodded and walked to another room. She caught a glimpse of his back before he went inside. "Huh? Since when did Naruto have a tattoo?" She looked at the black circle-like marking above nine magatamas.

* * *

"Man, that felt sooo good~." Naruto said as he finished taking a shower. He wore his usual orange pants, but he's shirtless because he needed to dry up.

It's been four months since the Trials finished and the demihumans were finally able to return to society. The people of Irlam went to the capital and reunited with their families, then returned to their normal lives. They all thanked Naruto, Emilia, and the children cried when they found out that they wouldn't be around anymore.

Thankfully all of them were evacuated when the Archbishops attacked. Many of them were slightly injured because of their hasty evacuation but there were no casualties… not one, except Crusch.

Naruto sighed in defeat when he began to blame himself again. He shook his head and walked toward the bed to grab his black shirt. When he's about to put it on, he furrowed his brow when he notices his back has a Six Paths Senjutsu tattoo on.

"Huh? Since when did I have that, Kurama?" Naruto said mentally as he began to examine his tattoo.

**"Hmmm, if it's popping up without you activating your Senjutsu it must be because you are accumulating too much Six Paths and Bijuu chakra and not using it. Remember that the Fourth Hokage's seal acts as a filter for our chakra, and since you have had all 9 of us sealed here all this time while generating more Six Paths chakra you are risking becoming a Ten-Tails jinchuriki via merging too much of our chakra... at least in theory."**

"Dammit, do I have to worry about it?"

**"Don't worry, it isn't dangerous, but it can cause you to lose control over your chakra or worse, merge us into the Ten-Tails, so I recommend you expel the accumulated energy from time to time, unless you want more changes in your body or ours. The tattoo is permanent though so I recommend you get used to it." Kurama said, noticing Naruto's worry.**

"What do you mean permanent?! Do you have any idea what my mom would do to me if I went to the Pure World with a tattoo?!" Naruto yelled in panic.

**"Calm down! I'll explain it in simple terms. If you don't stop to accumulate and merge these energies you'll end up looking like Madara, Obito, or Kaguya. You'll have white skin, you'll grow horns, your hair will become white and ridiculously long, probably, and you'll, also probably, get extra eyes. Not to mention the danger we are in of merging again." Kurama said in exasperation, he did get a little satisfaction when he saw Naruto's skin begin to pale in fear.**

Naruto calmed down enough to ponder these words. Kurama was right, but what was he supposed to do? Blast the moon from time to time? That would attract unnecessary attention to him and the Bijuus, and that was the one thing he didn't want. This mess was his fault, the Bijuus he wanted to protect were now in danger because of him. The sealed Bijuus reminded him of Satella and brought about another set of problems altogether. His head began to hurt, he decided to leave this for another time.

**"You're still going to save her, aren't you?"**

"I have to, Kurama. I know Satella didn't do it. Speaking of which, does this situation remind you of something, Kurama?"

**"Yes, that was a long time ago and I don't want to talk about it. But do you believe someone is responsible for giving the witch factor to Satella? Or making her lose control over it?" Kurama asked, sounding serious. He could relate to that, if it were true.**

**"Wow, Kurama." Shukaku said amazed as he gave a round of applause. He tried to hold his laugh, imagining an orange fox with detective clothes. "Looks like we have detective Kurama doing an investigation."**

**"Bitch, you need to shut the fuck up! I'm serious about this!" Kurama yelled.**

Naruto laughed at them, it seemed they would get into another brawl. That was ok, he needed to rest from these problems anyway.

It wasn't long before he heard a knock on his door. "Who is it?" He asked.

"It's me."

Naruto put his shirt on, walked toward the door, and opened it. "Hello, Emilia. Are you done with your studies?" He asked with a smile.

"Yes, thank goodness, I've been studying all day. I think I'm getting better at understanding my role as a candidate." Emilia said with a smile.

Naruto noticed there was a gift in her arms, but he frowned at her when she moved the gift behind her. Emilia let out a giggle at his face, she slipped past him, waving her finger at him.

The silver-haired girl sat on the bed and patted it with her hand, telling Naruto to sit with her. He did what she asked him and sat next to her.

"This is for you, Naruto." Emilia said as she handed him the little box in her hands.

"For me?" He asked as he grabbed the present and opened it. "This is…" He picked a black string with a blue gem on it.

He received a similar necklace from granny Tsunade when he was 13 years old. He couldn't believe how much attention to detail the thing had. It was the first thing Emilia gifted him, it was very thoughtful of her.

"Since you brought me a hairpin, I wanted to do the same for you." Emilia smiled as she touched her butterfly hairpin. "I wanted us to remember each other." She grabbed his hand and grasped it.

Emilia grabbed Naruto's new necklace and wrapped it around his neck. She moved back to her sitting place and looked at him. "You look perfect." She said.

"Thank you, Emilia." Naruto smiled as he leaned in forward to kiss his girlfriend on her lips. "This is a very nice gift…" But his smile suddenly faded, making Emilia worried.

"What's wrong?" Emilia asked, but she got no answer. So, she decided to sit on her knees on the floor, pulling his hand to make him sit down with her as she grabbed his head and placed it on her lap. She knew something had been plaguing his thoughts after he came back from the tomb. "Naruto, you seem very stressed as of late, why don't you relax with me for a while."

"I never get stressed. I was exhausted from training with you, Rem, Beatrice, and Garfiel."

"I can tell that you're overwhelming yourself with work just by looking at you, could you trust me with more details about what's going on? Even if I don't think I can put you at ease with just this… There's nothing else I can do, after all."

As her boyfriend, he didn't want to hurt her feelings and cause her to worry. Ever since he touched foot on this world things just seemed to pop up everywhere he went. Witches, Archbishops, Demon Beasts, his home, his recent problems with not only his Six Paths, but with the Bijuu as well. That last one was just the last nail in the coffin.

He promised Satella that he would find her and free her from the seal, so that they can find the person that is responsible for doing this to her, that by the way, if he learned anything from this world, was most likely still alive.

"Yeah, I guess I'm a little… stressed." Naruto answered softly, closing his eyes when Emilia began to stroke his head.

"I know you are stressed, but something tells me there's a particular reason why. May I try to guess, if you don't mind?" Emilia asked.

"... Sure, hit it."

"Is it about me?"

"No, you did nothing wrong."

"Is it about Crusch?"

"Nope."

"Is it about Satella?"

"…"

"…"

"Yes…" Naruto answered as he gritted his teeth softly, he hated that every time he saw her he immediately thought of the seal Satella was kept in. "I'm so sorry Emilia, I can't stop thinking about her. It was just-"

"Naruto, I'm not angry with you, I understand perfectly why you are getting restless about it." Emilia said with the same smile as she continued to stroke his hair. "But you're not alone. She is safe in her seal, so you don't have to worry about her. She's been there longer than you and I have existed, I'm sure that she can wait a little more. Besides, you have us to worry about too, don't let this keep you down, we worry about you."

"Emilia…" Naruto said softly as he got up from her lap, looking into her amethyst eyes. She's right, he needed to stop trying to solve all these things at once, he needed to relax a little.

"Thank you, Emilia. You're the best girlfriend in the world."

"I know, right?" They looked at each other for a second and began to laugh, the atmosphere felt a lot lighter now. As they slowly calmed down, they decided to keep each other company for a while.

"Naruto, do you remember when I broke down after I failed my first trial?" She asked as she leaned in against his shoulder, holding his hand.

_"What happened to Emilia-sama?!"_

_"She didn't make it through her test, I'll explain later. Help me set up the bed. She needs to rest."_

_" I already did. Let me-"_

_"No!"_

_"Emilia-sama?!"_

_"Oh no! Emilia, calm down!"_

_"Naruto… Help me! I didn't mean it! Naruto!"_

Naruto remembered it as well, it hurt him to remember her in that state. "Yeah, I remember. What do you want to tell me?"

"I know this sounds crazy… But when I remembered my past, I met you in Elior Forest."

"...Really? I met you?"

Emilia nodded as she stood up and sat on his lap. Pulling Naruto's arms around her body, she rested her head against his chest, "I don't know, but I remember you and I became friends. You were my first friend, at least until I did horrible things when you left. I fought bandits until a demon beast appeared and killed several of them. I had to do something, so I helped the bandits but a demon beast chased me. And then, you came back to me, but..."

"But?"

"My magic suddenly attacked the bandits and you… I hurt you because I couldn't control my magic. I was so scared and I didn't know how to stop my magic until Puck helped me. I thought you would run away from me, but you didn't. Even after I hurt you, you came back to me and helped me up. I asked you if you were afraid of me, but you suddenly transformed in me. Then, you brought me back to my home and took care of me."

Naruto blinked several times, he was processing the information just given to him. That dream sounded like what a person did for her but she somehow processed that memory to look like him, maybe?

"Then, Melakuera came to me. He's the Great Spirit of Fire. He told me everything about why everyone hates me. I was breaking down until you came back to me again. After you heard everything about me, you didn't care what I was. However, Melakuera wasn't too happy to see us showing our friendship. You defeated him to protect me. Finally, that's the last time I saw you because you vanished. You… You or he erased my memories to keep me safe."

"What? He erased your memories?" At this point, Naruto was expulsing smoke out of his ears. As farfetched, and confusing, as her story sounded he was inclined to believe her. The worst part was, he didn't know why.

He had been studying the multiverse theory, as complicated as that was, in hopes of a way to go back to his dimension but, as far as the theory went, he ended up in one of the infinite universes making him incapable of finding his home, but this brought another question, had he met Emilia before? Or maybe, another him? The smoke coming out of his ears tripled in size and his eyes began to spin. His brain reached critical levels.

"Naruto? Are you okay?" She saw his face go red instantly for no reason, at least to her.

"I'm fine." Naruto smiled, catching his breath to calm down.

_"P-Please stay with me… I-I don't want to be alone."_

_"I'm sorry…but my friends need me. I know your life will be difficult, but I promise you that I will come back to you. Or someone like me will come here-listen! I have to go!"_

_"Wait! Please! Don't leave me!"_

_"Forgive me, Emilia. I hate doing this to you, but I promise you they won't hurt you. Until we meet again, you will remember me, I promise."_

Goddammit! Even when he was doing nothing this damned problems found him. He needed to reflect on this new information and ask the Bijuus for their thoughts on this new set of memories.

"I'm okay. It's no big deal. You were very stressed that day, maybe this dream was a hallucination, I wouldn't think about it too much." He said.

"Okay…" Emilia said as she put her hands on his face, tracing his whiskers with her fingers. She's still worried about Naruto and wanted to make sure he's okay.

Naruto closed his eyes as he felt her fingers trace his whiskers and smiled at her. He loved it when Emilia stroked his whisker, it felt great, strangely enough.

"Naruto, do you remember me? Meeting me back in Forest Elior? Was that you?" Emilia asked softly, hoping it was him, hoping she wasn't going insane.

Naruto shook his head slowly as he couldn't remember meeting her in the Elior Forest. "I'm sorry, I don't remember meeting you in your homeland." His voice was soft, he didn't want to hurt her in any way.

"Oh… What a bummer." She said sadly, but she smiled at him as she held his hand. "But, I'm happy I met you."

"I'm happy too." Naruto smiled as he accepted her hand and pulled her into a passionate kiss.

They stayed there for a couple of minutes until they let go of each other. Their eyes were locked on each other, azure eyes met amethyst. Emilia wrapped her boyfriend's neck with her arms, but they snaked down to his chest and touched it with her hands. Her heart started beating faster and she seemed to have lost control for a second.

Naruto blinked when he noticed his girlfriend's dazed state. "Emilia?" He asked as the half-elf finally snapped out of whatever trance she was in.

"S-Sorry… it's my first time…touching… a man's body…" She said awkwardly as she moved her hands up his loose shirt. He began to blush as well but pulled her closer to him. "N-Naruto?" Her face turned scarlet when he claimed her lips.

He and Emilia began to kiss, and their hands began wondering inappropriate places, but before things could get truly heated a knock on the door interrupted their moment.

"Who is it?" Naruto asked, his face returning to its normal color. He had a slight frown on his face, he was a little annoyed to be interrupted in the middle of their time together.

"It's me, Petra! Is Emilia-sama with you?" Immediately his frown disappeared, there was no way he could ever be annoyed with Petra of all people.

"Yes, she's here." Naruto said as he stood up, not before kissing his girl one last time, and walked toward the door, opening it for Petra. "What is it?"

"We have a guest. They're a... little kitty girl and a... boy with a monocle?" She tried to give the best descriptions she could come up with, it was quite cute.

Naruto widened his eyes in surprise, he didn't expect Mimi to come visit. He looked back to Emilia who perked up at the familiar name too. She walked toward the door and nodded to him, they told Petra to let them inside.

Petra ran ahead of them after she got her orders from Naruto and Emilia. The two walked together looking forward to seeing the cute demihuman.

* * *

"Onii-san! Onii-san! It's been forever! Have you been well?!" Mimi asked with an energetic tone, hopping up and down when she saw Naruto open the door for her. Without warning, she jumped high and hugged him.

Naruto couldn't help but chuckle at her as she crawled up until she reached the top of his head. "Hello there, Mimi. It's been a while. I see you're full of energy as always." He said while rubbing the girl's head.

"Yup! I'm super-duper full of energy! And I even grew bigger, now I'm an adult!" Mimi said as she looked at Emilia who came behind him. "Hello there, Emilia-oneesama!"

"Hello there, Mimi. What brings you here?" She asked with a gentle smile.

"I'm inviting you to a party! My Lady said "Let's all hang out! Remember Anastasia!" So here I am to invite you! I'm super excited! Super! Excited!" She was so excited that she began to pull on his hair, he didn't mind, he could barely register it.

Naruto looked at Emilia with a surprised expression, why would Anastasia invite them to her party? More importantly, even though Emilia is a candidate, she is a silver-haired half-elf, not exactly the person you wanted in your party, as wrong as that was, so why would she invite them?

"A party invitation from Anastasia? What's going on?" Naruto asked, he didn't get the best impression from Anastasia the first time they encountered.

"Well, it's pretty normal for politicians wanting votes or other favors to host parties to exchange business and hopefully secure more votes at the same time." Emilia said with a thoughtful expression, recalling the books she read about this particular topic. "That's why-" She got interrupted by a very excited kitty.

"I don't know! She didn't say it, but I'm excited to eat a lot of food!" Mimi said. "Oh! Oh! I forgot to tell you that I brought my company here too! I'm alone being Joshua's bossygar, bollygard?"

"Bodyguard?" Naruto corrected her gently.

"Bodyguard! Thank you, onii-san!" She said as she crawled on his shoulder, nuzzling on his cheek as both of them laughed at each other. "Hey, hey! What are you?! Are you a demihuman too because you have whiskers?!"

"Those are my birth-marks, Mimi. I am human." He smiled at her pouting face, well, he couldn't exactly qualify as a human since he had his DNA rearranged by his Bijuu, hence his whiskers, and he was part alien due to his ascendency with Hagoromo, but explaining that to Mimi would be hell, so he didn't. "Who is Joshua?"

"He's Julius's younger brother. I didn't expect him to come here instead of Julius." Emilia said before she saw the young man coming out of the carriage.

He has long, light purple hair that he ties into a ponytail, he had yellow eyes that slant upward. He wears expensive-looking clothes and a monocle, making him give off a scholar like an aura. He quickly approached them and bowed to Emilia.

"Hello, Emilia-sama. It's been quite a while since we last saw each other." He spoke as he finally got up from his position, he immediately noticed there was an unknown, blond person with spiky hair. He dressed like a common civilian, with black and orange clothes and orange pants, but his aura screamed warrior. "I don't believe we have met before, but I had a feeling my brother Julius met you."

"Yes, they met at the capital. This is my knight, Naruto Uzumaki."

"I see. I remember now, my brother told me about you. My name is Joshua Juukulius. Julius's younger brother, but I guess I already said that."

"Nice to meet you. Please, come on in."

After meeting Mimi and Joshua, they sat on the couch in the living room. They drank the tea Rem offered. When they no longer needed her, she stood next to Naruto, on guard for anything suspicious. Beatrice, who was in the living room before their guests showed up, was with them, she was being pampered right now by Naruto. Naruto had one of his arms looped around her waist while his other gently massaged her scalp.

"Now then, what do you want to talk-" They already discussed this with Mimi, but they guessed she was just too excited to tell them since she had no idea of why Anastasia was even making the party.

"P-Please wait! Who is this girl?" Joshua winded up too flustered to talk as he pointed at Beatrice and leaned forward forcefully making his monocle slip.

Naruto blinked in confusion at Joshua's reaction when he noticed Beatrice. He thought this guy would be a very serious person by looking at him, but he's not. He hated thinking bad things about Julius's brother, but Joshua was weird. Honestly, he would prefer Julius to come visit instead of him.

"My name is Beatrice. I am Naruto's contracted Artificial Spirit-kashira." Beatrice introduced herself absentmindedly, she was too preoccupied with her book and his petting.

"I see. You're a spirit." Joshua said with a sigh of relief.

"Hey, guest, you got a problem with our Captain havin' a spirit with him?" Garfiel asked with a dangerous tone, crossing his arms as he sat on the chair next to Naruto.

"No, it's nothing important. It just surprised me that Naruto is a Spirit Knight. As I'm sure you know, my brother is a Spirit Knight himself. The title is so rare that you could call him the only holder in the nation, at least, until now."

"Really? I'm guessing that means he has an Artificial Spirit." Naruto said with curiosity.

"I heard that there was another knight who uses spirits. What an odd turn of fate for it to be your brother-kashira." Beatrice said, paying more attention now that she was the focus of the conversation.

"What do you mean by 'odd turn of fate', spirit?" Joshua asked.

"It's obvious what I mean-no yo. Precursors are destined to be excelled-kashira. His best place is as an ornament on the glorious road that Naruto and I—nhaaha!"

"Hey, that is very disrespectful to him. Just because you believe I'm stronger than him doesn't mean I want to get a victory." Naruto said as he messed up Beatrice's hair and bowed his head to Joshua. He was pushing Beatrice's head into a bow as well. "I'm sorry about Beatrice's behavior. Julius and I have had no problems in the past. I would never do any harm to your brother."

"An admirable, and correct judgment. When comparing yourself to my brother, it's natural to recognize your inferiority."

"Huh?" Naruto was trying to be the mature one here, but Joshua's abrupt arrogance made a tick mark on his forehead.

Joshua talked a lot about his brother Julius. He spoke with passion and his face began to turn red the more he talked. Naruto had no reply, and Beatrice recoiled in disgust. Garfiel and Rem stayed silent, unsure whether this could get worse, and Mimi was too busy stuffing her cheeks with snacks to even register the conversation. Even the Bijuu in his mindscape didn't like him, they were thinking of a way to murder this guy! But not everyone in the room wanted to rip the man's tongue off.

"Heehee. Joshua, you love your brother Julius so much." Emilia said with a smile, clearly taking his words as that of casual admiration.

Her words made Joshua realize what he just said, and his face reddens in shame rather than excitement. He cleared his throat, managing to compose himself.

Naruto dropped his jaw, looking dumbfounded at Emilia, was she enjoying his story? He looked at the others to see them with unbelieving faces as well, he had to do something. "Hey, why don't you skip your story? I want to know why you're here, please?" At this point, he wanted this man out of his life, right now!

"Right! I forgot about that." Joshua said as he put his hand in his pocket, he withdrew a letter and set it on the table. He opened it, looked down at the letters and their black ink, and began to read. "Anastasia-sama wishes to invite yourself and all of your associates to the city of Pristella."

"An invitation to Pristella City… Pristella is the Watergate City, yes? The big city near the border between the Kingdom of Lugnica and the Kararagi City-States."

"You are correct. Anastasia-sama is presently sojourning there, rather than the Capital… and she wishes to invite you." Joshua said, he was now back to his serious self, but one could see him squirm under all their stares.

Emilia looked away from him and glanced at Naruto. She wanted him to share his thoughts before accepting Anastasia's invitation. Naruto felt conflicted about the whole thing. Everyone knows that Anastasia is staying in a mansion in the Capital's noble district while she's in Lugnica. When Mimi mentioned an invitation to a party, Naruto was certain it would be to that mansion.

If Naruto remembered this right, Anastasia was particularly harsh on Emilia during the explanations in the Palace. The candidates most unsparing toward Emilia were her and Priscilla. Crusch didn't seem to care about her race, and Felt is in Emilia's debt. Anastasia did help during the White Whale, but his opinion was still the same, who was to say that she didn't do it just to save face?

"Anastasia-sama invites you out of her beneficence. She has noticed the valuable object you are searching for in Pristella." Joshua said, no doubt trying to sweeten the deal.

"I'm sorry, but I already have it with me." Emilia smiled, touching the white butterfly hairpin Naruto gave to her. "Naruto brought it for me. This hairpin is special to me and I don't want to replace it." She placed it on her chest right against her heart.

She wasn't going to replace the hairpin for no reason, it symbolized the changes in her life. It reminded her of the person, who, for no reason other than the goodness of his heart, stood by her side unconditionally, the person she was beginning to imagine a future with. It meant so much more for her than even Naruto himself could realize, she wasn't going to lose it or give it away, or even replace it.

Joshua was surprised that Emilia declined the invitation and the valuable object she was searching for in Pristella. For sure, Anastasia gave him the right information about Emilia's apparent objective but it seemed like she had changed her mind because of reasons that she ignored. He was about to try and make her change her mind but Emilia did that for him.

"But, even if I already have something much more valuable than what Anastasia wanted to bribe me with, I accept your invitation." Emilia said with a serious voice. Even if she didn't want to go, this was a very obvious political move. It would look bad on her as a candidate to not assist a party made specifically for such individuals. Besides, maybe she could make a political move herself, who knew? After all, all the right people were going to be at the party, she had nothing to lose.

* * *

"I seee~. That's why you want to bring Frederica and Garfiel to Pristella. Permission granted!" Roswaal sang with a smile, looking at Naruto, who was now fully dressed in his knight uniform.

"Yes, their mother is in Pristella, my clone already looked for her in the city and confirmed it, their similarities are undeniable. They now have the chance they wanted, hopefully it's for the best." Naruto said with a worried expression.

"No need to worry~ I'm very positive that even if the event is sour, their lives will be less stressful now." Roswaal said as he looked at Emilia and the others packing their stuff to leave to Pristella. Then, he looked back to Naruto with narrowed eyes. "I can trust that you'll look after them?"

"You can count on me." Naruto said with a roll of his eyes, their relationship had patched up somewhat and they now weren't at each other's throat, that fight had something to do with it, he was sure. The good news was, Roswaal was now out of bed and fully capable of defending himself, so now Ram gave him less glares than before and even spoke to him sometimes, so that was improving.

On that note, Anastasia's subordinates left for Pristella first to tell Anastasia that her invitation was accepted. So, Naruto and his group stayed behind to get ready before leaving.

"Otto, how long does it take us to Pristella?" Naruto asked, looking at the familiar driver. This person is one that took them to the Capital after the Witch Cult attacked.

He joined Emilia's camp four months ago to assist Emilia and Naruto. He liked the guy a lot and all the boys sometimes went to drink to the pub when they had the time, moderately, of course, he didn't want the eyes of his mother burning on the back of his skull, nor Emilia's for that matter, she gave him a very stern talking when she found Garfiel laughing like an idiot due to being drunk and a passed out Otto on his shoulder.

He found out that the guy had very bad luck, but he was able to negate it with his good luck, and some of Garfiel's, until something unfortunate happened and he seemed to make his luck ten times worse, but they always got out safe, so it was ok. He would never forget when they had to deliver some ducks and a tiger was in the carriage for some reason, the look on his face was priceless… Garfiel ate that tiger, now that he remembered, he was very drunk.

"It will take us over ten days to get there, even if we hurry. The party isn't soon, either way, so let's relax and take our time." Otto answered with a bored tone, he already had everything in his carriage since he was a merchant and all that.

"Wow, that's pretty far." Naruto widened his eyes in surprise at how far Pristella was, sure, he received his clone's memories but he sometimes couldn't measure how fast he was in comparison to this world's transportations. So, that meant that Mimi traveled ten days just to get here, he felt bad now, no wonder the little girl ate like crazy.

"I'm surprised that they came all the way here just to deliver an invitation." Garfiel said.

"Indeed, that's pretty far." Frederica said.

"Considering the carriage's load, we will have an earth dragon and ground dragon pull the carriage. And since we plan not to camp anywhere, we should be fine with only the bare minimum of emergency supplies." Otto said. "However, there's a chance we will encounter beast demons on the road. I am hoping you and Garfiel can do the jobs for us."

"That's no problem! Me and captain can-captain?" Garfiel looked at Naruto who had a thoughtful look on his face.

Naruto began to glow golden. He summoned a very large fox, this fox was barely larger than a carriage.

"Wh-What is that?!" Otto yelled in panic, pointing his finger at the fox.

**"About damn time! I could use an exercise!" Kurama said as he stretched his arms and legs. After he did that, he looked at Naruto, wondering why he called him to come out. "So, what's up?"**

"Oh! It was nothing, we are going to Pristella. I was hoping I could use your help to take us there. Could you do that for us?" Naruto asked.

**Kurama sighed in disappointment, there weren't any giant monsters around. He was a little bored, but he had nothing better to do. The fox nodded, accepting Naruto's request to take them for Pristella.**

**The fox opened his mouth and ate Naruto's friends inside his yellow chakra neck. Before he could begin to run, his mood turned sour when he saw a little girl in maid clothes, running toward him with an adorable smile.**

"Hi, Kurama-kun!" Petra greeted loudly with a happy tone, waving her hand at the gigantic fox. "Are you here to play with me?! Can I touch your tail?!"

**"No, child! And stop addressing me with such confidence-" Kurama said, almost yelling at Petra. He could feel Naruto's annoyance through their link, so he breathed calmly and used a gentle voice. "I'm not here to play with you, little child. I'm here to take Naruto and his friends to an important meeting."**

Their little story was quite a sweet one, Petra accepted Kurama for who he was in their first meeting even with all his grumpiness, the fox didn't know how to react to the unconditional love of someone who could lift him like a puppy so he ran from her almost always. He almost always ended up hurting her only to regret it immediately and allow her to do anything she desired with him, their interactions were like comedic sketches.

"Aww… I really want to play with you, Kurama-kun… C-Can I hug you before you leave? Please!" Petra begged with puppy eyes.

**The gigantic fox couldn't help it but he bent down to allow her to hug him. His eyes began to burn an ominous scarlet when his brothers called him whipped. Damn them! He'll kill them later after he finished his mission.**

**_"God damn it! I can't believe what I'm going to say…"_ Kurama thought as he looked at Petra. "Human child. When I come back, I promise you can ride on my back, if you work hard."**

Petra beamed and looked at Kurama with an unsure smile. "R-Really?! Thank you, Kurama-kun!" She hugged the fox again and kissed on his nose, making his eyes shine with unadulterated rage at his brothers, not Petra though, he kinda liked to have someone looking out for him like that, it was sweet of her, not that he'd admit it.

"Aww… did that little girl embarrass you?" Naruto asked with a playful look.

**"Shut up! I only do this for her! Just once!" Kurama yelled, he didn't need Naruto teasing him as well.**

Naruto wasted no time and immediately camouflaged Kurama with his invisibility jutsu and they took off. He was going to pick up Mimi and Joshua and bring them along, he would explain Kurama as an air spirit that used the wind to be faster, so that they didn't have to go all the way back.

* * *

Upon their arrival, Naruto and the others were greeted by towering walls. He thanked Kurama for giving them a ride and deactivated his Bijuu mode, leaving it far enough so that they wouldn't be spotted. He left Anastasia's associates far enough so that they wouldn't be seen being carried by a "spirit", they quickly entered the walls of the city.

As they arrived at the front wall, they found the gates of Pristella in front of them. Before they could enter, they had to sign their names and get the officer's approval. However, the officers panicked a little once Emilia introduced herself, this pissed him off and things were about to get physical, luckily though, Emilia managed to calm him down.

"I'm sorry Emilia. I can't help it." Naruto said with some remorse.

"It's ok, Naruto. I understand you're trying to protect me." She used her thumbs to turn his mouth upwards, making him understand that everything was okay.

Beatrice, Rem, and Otto finished signing their names, but not Frederica and Garfiel. Since Garfiel couldn't write very well, he had his sister Frederica help him.

"Man… you need to learn how to write…" Naruto said with a sweat drop, the teen knew how to write, it was just that his handwriting was so horrible it just came out like gibberish, and that was saying something coming from him.

"My bad! I was a dumb kid and didn't want to study!" Garfiel said with a huff as he crossed his arms.

They entered the front gate to find a river flowing between the exterior gates and through the middle of the city. They crossed the stone bridge over the river, the inner gates opened, and Pristella revealed itself.

Naruto sighed in astonishment at the sight unfolding before him. Now, this is an amazing sight. He couldn't even describe it, but he isn't the only one reacting like this, his reaction was quite tame considering he had been here before, at least his clone. Emilia, Rem, and Beatrice, who were standing on either of him, also expressed their astonishment. Frederica and Garfiel had the same expression.

Ignoring the view, its shape was essentially that of a sports arena. The outer rim was the most elevated, and the elevation began dropping the closer you got to the center, it brought questions since he wasn't familiar with this design but his trained mind felt it served another purpose. He didn't know which though, it was no use questioning these things, maybe the answer lay in a book or something.

Even after seeing it before he couldn't believe how beautiful this scenery was.

Large canals run through the town, with notably massive canals dividing the circular city into four even sections.

Again, he had never seen such beauty in one place, maybe because his world was more preoccupied with getting resources to finance the next war.

"This is amazing… I've never seen a city with a river like this." Naruto said.

"Yeah, this is stunning. So Otto wasn't just spouting bullshit." Garfiel recovered from the shock first and rubbed the tip of his nose.

"This city is so beautiful." Rem said as she looked to the right and saw markets selling foods, jewels, and clothes.

Naruto slowly redirected his gaze to where someone peers over at their group. She has a fur dress and an eye-catching fox scarf: Kurama didn't like that, it was insulting to his power. Long, wavy violet hair and aquamarine eyes. She had a pleasant smile on her charming face, her figure was that of a child.

"Been some time since I last saw you. Many thanks to you for coming all the way. Figured, the journey's worn you out. How does it say we spend time relaxing inside, then chat?" Anastasia asked.

"Thanks for welcoming us in person, it really makes me feel at ease. And we would love to relax first." Emilia said politely, she almost vomited when Kurama began to speed up, they couldn't even see their surroundings.

Anastasia cast a frown at Naruto, probably pondering the origins of her companions, Garfiel was standing next to him, Beatrice was clinging to his sleeve, Frederica is standing next to Garfiel, supposedly to be his big sister, and Rem was positively one of Roswaal's maids.

Her gaze left Naruto for Emilia, she noticed her hand was holding Naruto's. It seemed like they're already in a relationship, this surprised her.

"Uzumaki-kun, I heard that you killed the Hakugei and the Sloth Sin Archbishop. I'm impressed that you defended Roswaal's border territories." Anastasia spoke to Emilia as the silver-haired girl approached her.

"Yes, I see you've heard of me too. I did what had to be done. I have to admit that you have fine companions on your side, they fought well against the Hakugei." She said.

"Thanks. Now, please follow me."

* * *

"Long time no see, Emilia-sama. I sincerely apologize for being late. I should have been the first to welcome you." Julius said as he arrived in the hotel Anastasia led them to, and bowed before Emilia with respect.

"It's been a while, Julius. You look like you're doing well." Emilia said with a cordial smile.

"I am grateful for your consideration. Likewise, Emilia-sama's kindness and beauty are ever the more polished. It's as if the shade of your gaze alone strengths this kingdom, while the rest of the world suffers a loss." Julius said as he turned to Naruto now, looking at the knight uniform he wears. "It's been a while since we had a chance to talk. I see you are formally Emilia's knight."

"Yo, Sir Julius. It's been a while, and yes I am now officially Sir Uzumaki." Naruto joked as he and Julius shook their hands respectfully. "You know, I didn't see you at the hunt for the Hakugei. I was going to speak with you about it, but it seems like you have your hands full."

"My apologies for not arriving sooner, I cannot leave Anastasia's side. But now I'm here, what is your question?"

"Oh yes! I heard of a nation I wanted to visit, it's called Kararagi. Do you know anything about it?"

"Yes, this is where Anastasia and Ricardo are from. Kararagi is one of the four great nations of the world. It's on the east."

"Thank you, Julius. Oh, where are my manners! I want you to meet my friends!" Naruto said as he introduced him to his friends. "I want you to meet Garfiel, Frederica, Rem, and Beatrice."

After Naruto introduced Julius to his friends, Julius greeted them all until his eyes stopped on Beatrice, who met his gaze steadily with her own eyes.

"What is it? You shouldn't stare too hard at a lady-kashira." Beatrice said, noticing his gaze.

"That was terribly rude of me. I didn't expect a high-level spirit like you would be present here." He said.

"I'm Naruto's partner, it's only natural that I be here." Beatrice said with a grumpy voice, she stood with her hands on Naruto's shirt and her chest puffed up. She didn't insult the man since Naruto had a good amount of respect for him, and she knew Julius had been nothing but welcoming to her master, so he was okay.

Naruto facepalmed, Beatrice was being grumpy again, he could understand why though, Joshua had pissed her off with his comments about them being inferior to Julius, but there was no need for her to unleash her frustration on him.

"Beatrice, come on, there's no need to act so grumpy against Julius." Naruto said as he patted her head to calm her down.

"...Fine! It's nice to meet you-kashira." She averted her eyes and puffed her cheeks when Julius chuckled at her expression.

"Sorry about Beatrice acting so rude toward you. She gets overprotective and can't handle people thinking they're stronger than me." Naruto said with a slight bow, remembering that everything he did reflected on Emilia as his master.

Julius chuckled at the bond between Naruto and his spirit. "Sorry, sorry, It's nice to meet you too, Beatrice. I have to admit it, Naruto, you have a very strong spirit on your side. Emilia-sama, I must admit you have a fine knight. Speaking of which, I've heard your knight killed Hakugei and Sloth Sin Archbishop." He said as he looked at Emilia for confirmation.

"Yes, the rumors are correct. And thank you, I'm happy that I chose Naruto as my knight." Emilia said while smiling at her boyfriend as she held his hand.

"I see you two are in a love relationship. I had no idea you two were together, but I wish you the best." Julius said. "Naruto, if I'm correct, you should've met my younger brother by now."

"Yes, I'm surprised you have a brother. He sure talked with us about you. A lot." Naruto gave an awkward chuckle, the man wouldn't shut up about Julius. "I don't mean to be rude… He talked about you a lot, so I can only guess he loves his big brother, a lot." He clasped his hand over Beatrice's mouth when he felt she was going to make a sarcastic remark.

"Indeed, he does. He's not a child well suited for excessive travel. Frustratingly, I hold several concerns about him, as his older brother." Julius said as he began to show his worry about his little brother, Joshua.

"Hey, I'm sure your younger brother is fine. He's safe with Ricardo."

"Thank you for being kind to me. Perhaps you're right."

* * *

**Omake 2**

After gathering all the new students in the classroom, they were all seated at their desks. Kazuma and his group were seated in the first row on the right. Tanya and her comrades were seated in the middle. Ainz and his… demon gang were seated in the second row. Naruto and his friends were seated in the 3rd row.

"What's wrong, Kazuma? You're looking...nervous?" Darkness asked in worry as she looked at the brown-haired boy who was sweating while staring at the blond man in the back row.

Meanwhile, Kazuma couldn't get over what his eyes were showing him. He never got to the end of the manga since he died before it's completion but this was without a doubt one of his favorite shonen protagonists.

_"He's definitely real! I can't believe he's real! I ain't going back to my homeland until I take a picture with him!"_ Kazuma thought.

Ainz looked at Kazuma, who looked like he's about to pass away. But what surprised him was Naruto Uzumaki. Ainz was also a fan of the manga, it was revered as one of the "classics" on his time, despite having at least a century. Shijuuten Suzaku, one of his friends at Ainz Ooal Gown, was the one who introduced him to the old manga, and he had to say that it was quite delightful.

But if he was here, that meant one thing for Ainz, danger. Whether he liked to admit it or not he was without a doubt the villain of his world. Not only that, the NPC's were made to be villains as well, so having someone like Naruto breathing on his neck was very concerning to the Lord of Nazarick. Worst-case scenario, they would all get wiped out before they could even use one World-Class Item, best-case scenario, he would lose the majority of his guardians.

He wasn't going to fool himself into thinking he could defeat this man, it was best to lay down and control his forces as much as possible, to avoid any sort of confrontation.

"Naruto-kun!" Rem whispered to the shinobi as he turned to look at her. "That man is staring at you." She answered him.

"Naruto, what did you do?" Ram asked.

"I have no idea what you're talking about, I've never seen this man in my life." He said.

"He knows your name, Naruto. Maybe he wants to talk with you." Emilia said.

"Those are the rules for your new school life!" said Roswaal, apparently, he was their new teacher. Both Beatrice and Naruto narrowed their eyes at the clown, what game was he playing now?

"Oi, Roswaal, what are we doing here?!" Naruto yelled, he was tempted to throw a piece of paper against him but decided not to.

"Naruto-kun, please, I'm your teacher now, address me as such. And, what you're doing here is, school life!" The clown looked pleased when all the color on Naruto's face just disappeared.

"Ehem! So what you're saying is that we need to have a school life, with the rest of the people here?" Came the voice of Ainz, you couldn't tell because his mount-teeth? Didn't move.

"That would be correct!~"

"And if I refuse?"

"You can't refuse. You would be punished for violating school rules." Ainz was silent after that. "Anyway, it's time for introductioooons~ Let's start with Emilia-sama."

"Okay! I'm Emilia, I'm one of the candidates to rule Lugnica and her people. Nice to meet you!"

_"Hmm.. A spirit and an elf… No, a half-elf?"_ Ainz thought, analyzing each one of his new "classmates".

"I guess I'm next, I am Naruto Uzumaki, I'm Emilia's knight."

"My name is Garfiel. You better not fuck with my boos, or we'll have to get personal, ya hear!"

"My name is Ram. And this is my little sister, Rem."

"I'm Rem, nice to meet you!"

"I'm Beatrice. I don't really think it's nice to meet any of you." Beatrice said with a huff, looking away from them. Naruto sighed, this girl sure was reserved.

"They even allowed a little girl like that?

"...Commander"

"Now then, I suppose it's my turn. Imper-" She was going to say her rank when she felt the gazes of several individuals lock on her immediately, Ainz and his group all seemed interested in her for whatever reason. She decided to continue. "Imperial 203rd Aerial Mage Batallion Commander, Major Tanya von Degurechaff!"

"First Lieutenant Viktoriya Ivanovna Serebryakov, of the same!"

"Captain Matheus Johann Weiss!"

"First Lieutenant Wilibald Koenig!"

"First Lieutenant Rhiner Neumann!"

"First Lieutenant Warren Grantz!" That seemed to conclude the introduction of the people in uniforms.

"Uwah! They're from some war world." Kazuma thought, although he wasn't aware that Ainz was thinking the same thing.

"Me! Me! It's my turn next, right? Ahem. I am the omnipotent goddess of wat-"

"This is Aqua, everybody. I'm Kazuma. This is Megumin. And that thing there is Darkness." The way the boy introduced everyone seemed to suggest he did this kind of thing regularly. The girls, bar one, didn't seem to appreciate his words when they descended into some kind of argument and some sort of shouting match to decide who could say his name louder.

"Alright, you're all that's leeeeft." Roswaal chimed in, he was referring to the group that consisted of only monsters.

The skeleton seemed to ponder Roswaal's words before he stood up with his group, bringing all of Kazuma's group into silence.

"It seems for the moment, we have no choice but to enjoy "school life" here. I'll go first. I am none other than Ainz Ooal Gown, lord of the Great Tomb of Nazarick!" Ainz stopped his introduction with a pulse of his dark power. He immediately regretted it when blue eyes were directed at him with the speed of a bullet. If he were meat and bones he would be shaking, but such a demonstration of weakness in front of his subjects wasn't allowed.

He could feel something being directed at him, some form of energy, or some sort of feeling, he didn't know for sure, but something was definitely looming over him. Something was going on between Albedo and their teacher but he couldn't move, couldn't hear, he was beginning to see purple tendrils reach toward him, no, those were hands, but before any of them could touch him they disappeared immediately. He sighed in relief when the man's attention was drawn to Shalltear, who was now introducing herself.

"Shalltear Bloodfallen, floor guardian of the first, second, and third floors!"

"Cocytus, floor guardian of the fifth floor."

"Aura Bella Fiora, guardian of the sixth floor!"

"Mare Bello Fiore, also guardian of the sixth floor."

"Demiurge, guardian of the seventh floor."

"And I am the Overseer of Nazarick floor guardians, Albedo."

"Oh my~ We really have a variety of students here, don't weeee?"

* * *

After school was over, Ainz and his crews were on their way home. Ainz was an undead, so he wasn't supposed to get tired, but he still had the soul of a human, so he was bound to get tired sometimes. His gaze caught Naruto and Emilia walking on the other side of the road while holding hands together.

He almost didn't catch the blue-haired woman in front of his group.

"Yeah, I guess it was fun."

"Right?! I can't believe I've never been to school!"

Naruto and Emilia were walking to their temporary house when they heard a shouting match on the other side of the road.

"Naruto, look! Our classmates!" Emilia pointed at Ainz and his friends.

"Oh yeah. Let's greet them." When they were halfway, a bright blue light made them shield their eyes. There was more shouting and then silence. "Maybe this wasn't such a good idea."

"Yeah, maybe we should go."

"I agree."


	20. Chapter 20

**Credits to XPartan Caos for grammar, editing, and word choices.**

**Quick note: This is reupdate again because error message came back. I'm going to leave it here.**

* * *

Have you ever considered what to call a copy of someone else? A copy that had the same abilities, same personality, and same memories as the original but wasn't?

Frederica hadn't, such an idea was ludicrous to even acknowledge but it seemed that her lack of imagination had turned against her when she was presented with such a situation.

"Hey... Naruto?" Frederica called softly, unsure whether to call him that or clone. Was clone a derogatory term when you put into consideration that they were perfect copies of the original?

The clone Naruto turned to her when she called him and asked, "What's up?"

"Thank you for helping us find our mother, I don't know how to repay you." She said, sounding a little nervous. She had talked to the "original" about it, but she felt as though he didn't understand how important this was for her.

"Don't worry, you deserve to be reunited with her and bring closure to this part of your life."

Frederica hadn't talked to this being before but certain characteristics about it were certainly different than Naruto's. The clone looked bored and walked with a very poor posture, it seemed that the clone had a very lazy attitude compared with Naruto.

Idly, she remembered how they ended up in this situation. Naruto and Emilia had business to attend to with Anastasia that seemed political in nature. He considered the fact that the talks may be boring so, instead of leaving them in the background, bored, he created a clone to guide them to their mother's last known location, to let them sort this by themselves. Rem was with them since Naruto instructed her to keep them safe, since she was the strongest among them due to her combat training, and for them to help her buy dinner when they returned. Obviously, Beatrice refused to leave Naruto's side so it was just them.

"Frederica, you don't have to worry about compensation I'm sure he doesn't mind at all." Rem said with a smile as she looked around the market looking for places to buy ingredients from.

Right now Naruto, Garfiel, and Rem were carrying the groceries they bought while on their way here.

"Hey, captain, are you sure we're in the right place?" Garfiel asked the clone.

"Yes, I'm sure. I already used Sennin mode to find her." The clone Naruto said with a moody huff and a roll of his eyes.

A few minutes later, they moved to a different area just outside the waterway. They continued moving until they noticed five children playing around in a boat.

The situation turned south when they noticed that the boat didn't have any sort of rope leaving it in place and another boat didn't seem to notice it, nor the children playing on it.

"Oh no! If they collided, their boat could throw the children into the river!"

"Hey, kids!" Frederica's shout gained the attention of others that too began to panic at the danger the children were facing. When the people shouted to the boat's driver he finally noticed the children and tried to turn it, though it was obvious that there was no time.

Hearing the shrill voices of the spectators, the children finally noticed their situation and panicked as they saw the sudden approach of the boat.

The clone Naruto scoffed and made a gesture for Garfiel to move. Garfiel nodded and suddenly leaped into the boat, keeping an astonishing balance as he landed.

To the cowering children, Garfiel could only be considered a miracle from heaven. With a crooked smile and a fierce laugh, the children stiffened, intimidated by the scary blond stranger and the incoming boat. As their panic died down, Garfiel scooped the five children into his arms, making another leap.

Naruto's clone looked at the panicking boat driver with total boredom and kicked its bow to the right, avoiding a collision but also breaking a good chunk of it. The clone didn't even register it while he moved away from the scene.

After the clone Naruto and Garfiel completed their rescue mission, witnesses gave them a roar of cheers and applause. Frederica and Rem approached them with relieved smiles on their faces, they knew they could trust them with the little mission.

"Good job rescuing the children, though I don't know about kicking the other boat." Frederica said with a strained smile.

"It was a piece of cake." The clone Naruto said before his white cape was pulled by the kid with golden hair. The kid has jade-colored eyes and wore a light blue outfit with a hat on his head.

"Onii-chan! How are you so strong?!" The kid with the light blue outfit shouted as his gaze left Naruto for Garfiel who saved him and the four children. "Onii-chan! Onii-chan! What's your name?!"

Naruto's clone didn't respond, instead he looked at the boy and grimaced and looked at Garfiel and Frederica with a secret only he was privy to now.

"Garfiel, the gorgeous tiger! GORGEOUS TIGER!" Garfiel shouted with a mighty roar as he struck a pose, leaning back with his hands stretched obliquely to the sky. Eyes shining, the children gave hushed whispers of excitement as they imitated him.

Now, the children turned to Naruto and they waited for his introduction. Naruto smiled lightly at them, putting whatever he was thinking now on the back of his head, they reminded him of the ones in Irlam village.

"Naruto Uzumaki, but you can call me Naruto Uzumaki." The clone Naruto said with a sarcastic smile as he watched the children imitate his bored pose.

"Naruto-kun, we should send them home first. Their parents must be worried." Rem said lightly holding his arm.

"Yeah, you're right." Naruto agreed as he looked at the children one more time, an impish smile on his bored face. "How about I buy you snacks?! Who wants to join?!"

"ME!" The children shouted at the same time.

* * *

After Naruto bought the children some snacks, he and his friends escorted them to their homes safely, one by one. Four of the five have returned home unharmed, which meant that the boy with the light blue outfit was the last one, unbeknownst to the other's of the little group, this was on purpose.

"With just a small group, you went out pretty far to play. Ain't that dangerous?" Garfiel asked, wondering why the children went on the boat without an adult that could ride it.

"Occasionally, the songstress Liliana goes to the park on First Street. We were looking for her!" The boy responded with a smile, not understanding that his little adventure had almost killed him and his friends.

"Excuse me, kid, may I ask why you aren't with your parents?" Frederica asked, oblivious of the sadistic laughter the clone had to stomp.

"B-Because…I snuck out. When I get home, my sister will be mad…" The boy said as his body trembled with fear. He didn't want to face his sister, much less his parents.

This boy right here seemed to have neglected to inform his sister that he would be out with friends today. As a result, his family was probably frustrated and worried sick.

"Got it! You count on the Gorgeous Tiger!"

The boy turned up to see Garfiel and appeared shocked. "R-Really?" He asked, feeling unsure.

"No matter how scary is an older sister! If she comes yelling at you, Gorgeous Tiger will protect you-ouch! Ouch!" Garfiel's ear was pinched by Frederica.

"I'm sorry, what did you say?" She smirked with her eyes closed as she let go of his ear in a few seconds.

Naruto and Rem couldn't help but look at one another when they noticed how attached they had become to the child already, it was great to see them banter, almost as if it was natural.

"Fred!" A deafeningly high-pitched voice suddenly broke Garfiel out of his thoughts.

He lifted his head in surprise and caught sight of the sprinting figure of a girl. She had long, elegant blonde hair, and was glaring intently at the boy with him. The boy's sister was also young only around ten years old.

"Sister Rafiel…" Fred said with a nervous gulp.

"You, just how worried are you going to make us before you're satisfied!?" Rafiel yelled harshly, glaring at him until she noticed Garfiel, who stood behind him. Not only him, few people were with him. "You, suspicious people, what do you want with my Fred?"

"We want to find his home." Frederica answered calmly. "Are you his sister? Then, we want to make sure he's safe. There's a misunderstanding here. We are not what you think. These two gentlemen saved your young brother and his friends." It seemed the little girl wanted to argue further, but a voice stopped her from doing so.

"Rafiel, Fred, where are you two?"

The voice that broke the stalemate came from someone else. Hearing that gentle voice, the siblings caught each other's gaze. Garfiel and his friends watched as the two ran in its direction. Sister and brother arrived at the corner of the road, where a woman had appeared. They flew toward her without hesitation.

That blonde woman was more than likely their mother.

"Mom!"

"Mom, these suspicious people, something about save, and Fred…"

Rafiel held onto her mother, sobbing, and Fred tried to defend Garfiel and his friend's innocence. After listening to the children's rambles, the person in question smiled. She stepped forward, her children still clinging to her, revealing her face.

Frederica and Garfiel immediately froze.

"Well, my children seem to have been taken care of, my apologies. If possible, could you tell me what happened?" She spoke in a soothing, gentle tone that held not even the slightest sign of malice or suspicion.

With a few strides, she'd arrived in front of them. Even as Garfiel and Frederica trembled and shivered at the woman's presence, she tilted her head, as if confused. That expression, that attitude, that voice, they all seized Garfiel and Frederica with abject shock. Naruto was looking away in guilt, if he had told them they wouldn't have come, probably.

"Mom/Mother?"

* * *

"Emilia! Wait for us!" Naruto yelled at his excited girlfriend who ran away from him and Beatrice.

"Hurry, Naruto!" Emilia shouted in excitement as she waved to him. She withdrew her hand from the railing and took a few steps backward with an excited smile. She was so energetic she didn't take the time to confirm that there was no one behind her.

"Ah!"

"Whoops."

Emilia bumped a man with a hood who had passed them by. She stumbled slightly, and the man reached out to steady her.

"I'm sorry. I-I wasn't looking behind me…" Emilia bowed with regret.

"This time, I was the careless one. After all, I was a little distracted by you." The man said, causing Naruto to tighten his jaw.

"Distracted?" Naruto asked quietly, recognizing the man's voice as he began to stretch his senses.

"This miss that I just bumped into has beautiful silver hair, doesn't she? A girl I once wanted to marry had that same hair. Remembering that hair, I didn't avoid you in time, I apologize." The man said, sounding sincere.

Naruto immediately turned Emilia away from that man and gently pushed her away from him into Beatrice. 'Beatrice, I'm counting on you, get her away from here.' He told the girl through their channel.

Beatrice blinked, confused as to why he requested such a thing. She looks behind him to see a hooded man and immediately alarms went off on her head. She grasped Emilia's hand firmly and started to drag her.

"Let's go, Emilia, I heard that there was a book that I want around here." Beatrice began to tug at Emilia's hand.

"Naruto, what's going on?" Emilia asked, getting a little worried at his behavior as she grabbed his hand, trying to keep her feet planted against Beatrice's strength.

"It's nothing. Why don't you go with Beatrice? I'll catch up with you. I promise." He said gripping her hand.

The silver-haired girl looked at him for a second until she nodded softly, trusting him. "Ok, but don't take too long." She said as she let go of his hand and went ahead with Beatrice.

After seeing Emilia and Beatrice leave, Naruto turned around to see the man. The blond shinobi clenched his fists in anger, glaring at the familiar man in the hood. His chakra spiked as his azure eyes glared into golden eyes.

"I'm getting fucking sick of your shit."

"I don't mind. I don't place any anger or blame on you. If you want to leave, feel free to leave. If we are to meet again, fate will provide us with another opportunity." The man said as he tilted his head to reveal it was Regulus.

"Why are you here? What do you want from her?" Naruto asked, containing himself from punching his head off his shoulders.

"Like I just said. A beautiful girl with silver hair. A girl I once wanted to marry had that same hair." Regulus said with a smile. "She's beautiful with silver hair. You know she's beautiful."

"She was one of them, wasn't she? She was from Elior forest." Naruto heard from Emilia that the Witch Cult attacked the Eilor Forest and, while trusting her, who better than Echidna to confirm this. She told him that Regulus was there that day, she wouldn't tell him why but he didn't mind that. The air around them began to agitate and rocks at his feet started to vibrate due to his energy level raising.

"I wouldn't do that in public if I were you." Regulus said as he looked around the area they're in. It was brimming with people walking by. "Even if you are strong enough to take me down, you and I will inevitably kill people. You know my attack could kill them if you slip even a second."

"Then, why are you here for?" Naruto narrowed his eyes at Regulus.

Regulus smiled, a sickly sweet smile. "I went out of my way to come here. If it had been for nothing then I couldn't let it go as if nothing had happened. Since this is a special reward, this is another matter." He said, sounding dramatic.

"What?" He asked, not understanding what the Archbishop said.

"I will never let go of anything I own, and I want what I own to be perfectly suited for me. Since I am perfect, I have to be continually satisfied. So, feeling a vacancy would, of course, be unsatisfying." Regulus said as he looked at Naruto, giving him a warning look. "I must make her my 79th wife, to satisfy that vacancy."

Naruto took a second to take the information in before his eyes bled a hateful red, his hand automatically going for his sword, a weapon he had been training lately.

"... I hate to say it but make no mistake if you even touch her the next time we see each other, I'm going to enjoy ripping the light from your eyes." It was weird feeling so enraged against someone he barely knew, idly he remembered Orochimaru, but this man was starting to stir an emotion in him he didn't like at all. He had the gal to warn him that he was going to make Emilia his, he was about to hit his limit, no one touched his loved ones and lived to tell the tale.

"Naruto, are you coming?!" Naruto heard Emilia's voice and immediately relaxed before turning around and walking away to meet her and the nervous Beatrice, revealing Regulus was no longer there.

While he walked, he was thinking about Regulus, that man had to die. As far as he was concerned, he was an arrogant being that had been killing in cold blood and without reason for hundreds of years.

"I'm sorry. I couldn't just leave you…I was worried if you weren't coming back to me…." Emilia said.

"That's ok. It's my fault for making you worry." Naruto smiled as he lifted Beatrice and grabbed Emilia's hand.

"Naruto, are you okay? Where's… what's his name?" She asked.

"I'm okay. And no, I don't know his name or where he went." Naruto lied to her, it sometimes worried him how good he had become at it. He didn't want that man near her, he would make sure of it.

Naruto glanced back, to make sure Regulus wasn't following them. If Regulus was here, then Ley would be as well, and while Ley was nothing but a small fry compared to his fellow Archbishop he was still a dangerous opponent to others.

* * *

"I'm so sorry, I wasn't expecting guests, so I haven't cleaned."

"That's alright, Mrs. Thompson! Let me help you clean your house."

"Thank you, sweetie, but you needn't worry."

The kind woman smiled at Rem who tried to help her clean the house. The clone is sitting on the couch with Garfiel and Frederica who looked silently at the woman.

Her long blonde hair flowed to her waist, her skin was white as snow, her slim body retained a woman's softness, and her soft face displayed a pair of clear, calm emerald green eyes. She looked to be as young as 25, but Frederica knew that she should be over 35.

"Mr. Garfiel and Miss. Frederica, does tea not match your tastes? I'm sorry, I didn't even think to ask what you'd like to drink…" Reala said as she frowned at the two, who were shaken back into awareness by her voice.

Naruto had to tap Garfiel's shoulder and call Frederica's name to wake them up. Both of them looked down at their untouched black tea and hurriedly picked the cup up.

"No, no, my amazing self was just being a bit silly… the spaciousness of this room is unusual, that's all." Garfiel said nervously.

"Is that so? My family's very big, and so is our house, but that makes it hard to clean. It looks like I was careless again." Reala said with a smile. "You Garfiel and Frederica are brother and sister. It's very nice to meet two siblings, you remind me of my own."

"I-I see that. Your children are so beautiful, It's nice to get to know about them." Frederica said nervously, avoiding eye contact with her mother.

"Thank you." Reala said, she seemed a little confused at their attitude but was too nice to comment.

Her smile, her sweet tone, everything about her struck Garfiel with nostalgia. However, Reala spoke not a word of Garfiel's gaze. The woman who claimed to be Reala Thompson looked exactly like Reshia Tinsel, his mother. Had Naruto confused his mother with another, very similar woman?... No, he knew it was her, his heart told him so.

Garfiel had very little memories of his mother since she abandoned him at a very young age, but from what the Trial showed him, this was his mother.

Naruto was very explicit in his explanation of how he knew they were related. Even if she forgot them-his heart clenched at that thought-there were more things that tied people, they were beyond him and even Raela herself, but Naruto knew of some and told him that the signs that they were the same person would come to be fairly obvious.

He hadn't thought of it before but now that he had a clear head he could see that the children were the key to solve the mystery. Fred and Frederica were very clearly similar names and so were Rafiel and Garfiel. The fact that she was his mother, was obvious since she somewhat remembered their names.

"Mom, tell the guests to go home, and then we can eat." Rafiel told her mother, didn't like Garfiel and his friends staying too long in her house.

However, Reala shook her head as she patted on her daughter's head. "Rafiel, what are you talking about? Mr. Garfiel and his friends took care of Fred when he nearly drowned."

"About that, couldn't it be that they were the ones who did it? So that they could come to our house and take advantage of our generosity. Maybe he wants money!"

"Hey now, that's going too far. But you're right, we have to thank him for Fred… should we give them money?"

"Mom!?"

"It's alright, we just care about your son's safety." Naruto smiled calmly at Reala as she smiled back with gratitude.

He was happy that such a person existed, even after all she had fought through. According to Frederica, her parents had lost everything to debt and had sold her to a group of slave traders, who were then ambushed by demi-human bandits. They had made Raela their concubine.

Somewhere along the way, she'd become pregnant with Frederica, and the bandits had put her up for sale. She'd been taken by another band of thieves and had spent a long time with them. Suffering misfortune after misfortune, she was finally rescued by Roswaal.

"Since my amazing self doesn't seem to be welcome here, we'll be leaving…" Garfiel said as he quickly stood up and began to walk toward the door, but Naruto held his arm, stopping him in his tracks.

"Life is filled to the brim with situations that, more often than not, are beyond our control, wouldn't you agree?" Naruto whispered as he glanced at the woman and her two children. "I understand that you're in pain, however, this could also be the last time you see her. I'm not forcing you to do anything, I'm just saying that this is something that you can, and will, regret."

"I know that… It was just… I was just…"

"Don't go, Gorgeous Tiger…" Fred called Garifel's nickname as he took a hold of the hem of Garfiel's pants and tried blocking his way.

"Mr. Garfiel and his friends will stay for a while, won't you? I'd be delighted to share dinner with you, and tonight's meal is my favorite dish."

"Garfiel." Naruto said letting go of his arm. "This is up to you, but you'd do well to remember that you're not alone in this." He gestured to Frederica.

Garfiel glanced at Frederica, she seemed so emotional right now. He sighed and gave up. "Very well, I'll stay here but just for you." He smiled softly as he gave Fred a ruffle on his head, making the boy smile at him.

"I'm home! Oh, do we have guests?"

The figure on the other side of the door was a gentleman sporting a magnificent beard. He appeared to be a man of detailed workmanship and gave off an energetic atmosphere. From his tone to face, he seemed to be a man of accomplishments.

"Oh wow, I never had this many guests at my house. My name is Garek Thompson. I'm Pristella's Metropolitan Director. I'm guessing you young people know my wife's name and my children's name." Garek said with a smile.

"I'm Garfiel."

"My name is Frederica. I am his sister."

"Rem, it's a pleasure to meet you."

"... Naruto."

Reala saw her husband Garek as she approached him and gave him a peck kiss. "Welcome back, husband. Let me help you take off your jacket." She said as she took off the jacket for him, and he sat on a chair along with guests.

Naruto and Rem looked at Garfiel and Frederica who had shocked expressions on their faces. Looking at their faces, they didn't know how to talk with their newfound stepfather.

"Mr. Thompson?" Frederica asked with a strained smile.

"Yes?" He asked curiously.

"I have a question… if you don't mind, of course."

"Of course. No matter what, I'll do my best to answer." He said with a smile.

"I wanted to know… how you and your wife met. You see, I ask because… she reminds us of a very important person, at least for us."

At that moment, Garek looked at them, analyzing them, and the clone immediately put on a poker face, becoming unreadable for the businessman. "... My wife, Reala… has no memories from before our meeting, 15 years ago." He said slowly.

* * *

"I was surprised that Felt hired this guy…" Naruto said with a raised eyebrow as he looked at a familiar guy with white hair dressed in dirty white clothes. If memory served right, this was one of the delinquents that tried to rob him when he arrived in this world.

On their way to their temporary residence, they found Chin, the thug guy at the hotel who tried to enter but got blocked by Joshua. Naruto was going to take Chin down until Reinhard joined and explained to him that Chin was hired by Felt. Not only he was hired, but so were the other two.

With that out of the way, he and Reinhard talked briefly about what had happened since they last saw each other.

"It's a long story…" Reinhard was talking about the delinquents, but he didn't want to explain how Felt met the three.

"Yeah, I guess it isn't the best tale." Naruto smiled at his fellow knight's nervous laugh. "So, you're here because of Anastasia's invitation?"

"The invitation sent to us said that she wanted to exchange a useful piece of information in return for something. Although we thought that Anastasia-sama may have been up to something, we didn't expect that Emilia-sama and you had been invited as well." Reinhard said.

"They're not the only ones."

They turned to see Garfiel and company approaching them. Naruto narrowed his eyes softly in sympathy for the siblings, he had already received a "report" from his clone. He was a little peeved that his creation was one of his defective clones but the sibling's wellbeing came first. What happened to their mother was both a blessing and a curse.

"You must be Emilia-sama's new friends. I am Naruto's friend, Reinhard van Astrea. I would be grateful if you would tell me your names." Reinhard said with his characteristic, confident grin.

"It's Garfiel Tinsel, and this is my sister Frederica." Garfiel introduced himself and Frederica to Reinhard as Frederica smiled at the red-haired guy and bowed before him prompting Reinhard to do the same.

"My name is Rem." Rem smiled kindly as she bowed to the redhead.

"It's a pleasure, all of you. I see you've become an official knight, Naruto. Congratulations." Reinhard said with a hand-stretched.

Naruto quickly shook hands with the swordsman. The redhead noticed someone that hadn't yet introduced themselves and knelt to meet their gaze. It was Beatrice, who was behind Naruto's leg as if afraid of the knight.

"I can tell that you are a revered and great spirit. It honors me to be able to speak with you like this." He spoke to Beatrice with respect.

"I don't dislike your admiration-kashira. Just, you should keep your distance. I'm sure you understand why-kashira." She said with a slight tremor in her voice.

"I understand completely. I'm sorry to trouble you."

She clung to Naruto's hand with an unusual tightness, and couldn't conceal its slight shaking. However, it wasn't because she was afraid. This was something else.

She looked at Naruto and Reinhard, comparing these two paragons of power. These two guys right here… are the strongest people in the world she could say. Naruto had powers that Beatrice understood due to his memories, but Reinhard was a total unknown. The only certainty in a battle between these two was total destruction, and this made Beatrice shake slightly.

However, she also knew that the reverse applied as well. If these two were to team up, no force on this planet could stop them and this brought her hope.

"Naruto, I heard that the Hakugei is dead, the fact that you were there leads me to believe you were the one who killed it, am I right?"

"Yes, I was. Although, I'm surprised you asked me specifically since there were other warriors there." Naruto said with a raised eyebrow.

"Don't misunderstand, I don't underestimate their power but you seem to be a very powerful man. You see, I'm not a man who's completely unrelated to that monster, and although I'm sure it's a long story I would like you to tell it to me, later."

"Sure, I don't mind."

Naruto was vaguely aware of Reinhard's experiences with the White Whale. Wilhelm van Astrea was a man filled with rage against the Hakugei due to the death of his late wife, this in turn could've had some sort of impact on Reinhard's life. As to what had happened between them, Naruto had no way of knowing.

"Thank you. I…I am surprised you and my grandfather have a good relationship, he spoke only good things of you when he arrived home."

"Your grandfather is special and so was your grandmother. You should talk with Wilhelm. I'm sure he wouldn't mind if you ask him how he met your grandmother. I know you two don't talk a lot, but he's your grandfather. That's what grandchildren do. You only have so much time before his life fades away, at least try to have a casual conversation before you regret not doing so."

"I…" Reinhard paused for seconds. "I'll take your advice into consideration, Naruto."

"Good!" The shinobi smiled.

* * *

After greeting Reinhardt, everyone entered the hotel. If seating at the table reflected the positions of the factions, then Reinhardt was seated at the bottom. Sitting at the head was the host, Anastasia. Next to Anastasia was Emilia and her faction, who Reinhardt, representing Felt's faction, was seated next to. Everyone was currently gathered in the tea room.

"It feels like it's been a long time since everyone has gathered like this." The speaker, who wore a dignified smile, was a beautiful woman with green hair.

She had amber eyes, which seemed to contain the very picture of harmony, and was dressed in a feminine navy blue dress, giving off an air of nobility. Although she was a beautiful being she couldn't appear so to the people reunited at the tables, their perception of her was a very different one.

"We haven't seen you in a while either, Crusch-sama. You seem to be doing well." Emilia said with a nervous smile.

"Yes, that's right. I previously caused you a lot of trouble, so let me offer my thanks. I've also heard of quite a few of the deeds that you were involved in. When I received the news, I thought that they were things only you could do." Crusch replied to Emilia in a soft tone. Her old decisive self-seemed to have disappeared along with her memory, and she had yet to recover it. She was no longer a savvy, brave politician, but merely a beautiful aristocratic lady.

Emilia looked away when she remembered that it was partially her fault that Crusch was like this.

"Hearing people talk about nyou like that was surprising. Eradicating the Sizable Hare and becoming a spiritual arts user, who would have expected that out of Naruto-kyun?" Ferris asked, sitting next to Crusch.

Unlike his incredibly different master, Ferris hadn't changed in the slightest. It was reassuring, but, at the same time, he remained difficult to understand.

Naruto, who was seated next to Emilia gave a dry chuckle. "Thank you for the compliment, but you seem to be confused, the White Rabbit was not a difficult target once we understood how to get rid of it. It was a shame that this was never found out, otherwise, a lot of people wouldn't have died."

"Ah, I see." Ferris nodded in understanding, that bunny had killed thousands through the centuries it existed, Naruto wasn't demeaning anyone's effort to kill it or even bragging, but was counting himself lucky to have had the information to do so. As expected of a knight.

The last member of Crusch camp that is sitting next to Ferris is the old swordsman, Wilhelm, sipping his tea. He was dressed in the same butler outfit he always wore, but it suited his tea-drinking-look well.

"By the way, Anastasia-san, why did you gather everyone here?" Emilia said, eager to get out of her presence.

"Of course, I have something that I'd like to discuss with each of you, but, to answer Emilia-san's question, I had to think pretty hard to come up with something that would entice each of you here." Anastasia said with a cute pout that fooled no one in the room.

"We came for the magic stones, but what about the others?" Emilia asked.

"Everyone has their wants and needs. Using just those to gather everyone would have been fairly easy… but there are those odd groups whose wants are mysterious."

"I don't understand…?" Emilia frowned and crossed her arms as she considered the issue, although the problem wasn't a difficult one. Just observing who was currently not present would pinpoint the faction that refused to be communicative. "Were Priscilla-sama and Al-dono not invited?"

"Those two are completely set on their path and I wouldn't know where to start finding out what they want. To be honest, even Felt-san treats land and money like they're completely irrelevant." Anastasia said with a huff.

"Regarding that, Felt-sama volunteered to come on a whim. That said, I do wish she'd care a little more about those matters." Reinhard said, it was clear that Felt had no interest in her role as a candidate.

"I'd also like to know more about everyone's circumstances. Although I've worked hard to learn, it's difficult to understand everyone's positions." Emilia said.

"Then, let's not talk about what happened today." Naruto said with a cheeky smile earning a huff and a pout from his embarrassed girlfriend.

"Eh, everyone's here already. Originally I heard that I was supposed to just meet with the lady from Kararagi."

The paper door was thrown open, revealing the girl standing behind it. She was an agile, pretty blonde girl with large chestnut-red eyes and a crooked smile. Her small face was full of naughty charm and her slim but agile physique seemed a touch more feminine.

Just as before, she was dressed in an outfit focused on enhancing movement speed, one that also happened to leave her navel and legs exposed.

"What, surprised that I still look this way? It's only been a couple of months, you know." Felt said when everyone looked at her with surprise.

Everyone slumped their shoulders upon seeing her, her clear disinterest in her image was very disappointing, and Felt caught their disappointment. Reinhardt, however, stood up to welcome his master as she approached.

"I was sure I left a change of clothes on the dragon carriage, what happened?" He asked.

"Bah! I wanted to go sightseeing in something comfortable. Saying that, you wanted me to get changed in the hotel, but who would wear something that looks so itchy? You should know that about me by now!"

"That's just like you…" Reinhardt placed a hand on his forehead, speaking in a helpless tone. Felt, who was dragging the kingdom's strongest swordsman around like a servant, looked happy to enter the room.

"Right, and here I am. I'm grateful for your hospitality today and I hope that our discussions will go well. There, all done with greetings." For a moment, Felt resembled a noble's daughter, minus the elegant aspect. She gave a naughty smile and mimed a curtsy without a skirt, and immediately reverted to her usual self. She was clearly mocking the nobles in the room and this only made them slump further into their seats and Reinhard looked ready to throw himself off a bridge, not that that would do anything to him.

Naruto sighed with a smile at her because she hasn't changed since the first day he met her. Her exuberant attitude was very much present, even when she was surrounded by many luxuries.

"Man, this is a really bizarre building. I've never seen one like it before, so I got curious and explored a little before coming here." Felt said as she sat by her knight, Reinhard.

"Hello, Felt-chan. It has been awhile. How have you been?" Emilia smiled at her younger friend.

"You know, it's so weird to have -chan added to my name. Well anyway, I've been well. I've heard a lot of rumors about really scary things."

"Those sure seem to be flying these days." She said with some annoyance.

* * *

"Beatrice, another bath?" Naruto looked at Beatrice who was in a blue yukata. Strangely, Beatrice's wet hair retained its usual drill-tailed form.

"After Naruto left Betty alone in the hotel, I was captured by Emilia. She forced Betty to go-kashira." Beatrice said with an unhappy look on her face as she crossed her arms and looked away from him.

Naruto laughed at this, this wasn't weird for Emilia to do ever since she almost drowned while she was alone in the tub. He supposed that it gave them some time to bond, so he left them alone for the most part.

All of the women went to the hot spring for a bath and to relax while the men stayed in the room filled with traditional decorations like bamboo and fusuma. Naruto was very surprised since the hotel was very… his world, if that made sense.

He turned to the left and saw Wilhelm, talking with his grandson Reinhard outside. It was very sweet to see them walking and chuckling like actual family members. He hoped they would fix their relationship.

"It's nice to see them together."

He turned around to see Emilia. She wore a bathrobe, her freshly washed silver hair gathered in the back. Naruto couldn't help but blush when he saw her like that.

He approached her and wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her toward him.

"N-Naruto, wh-what are you doing?" Emilia asked with a blush as her boyfriend began to scan her body with curious eyes.

The shinobi looked at Emilia, who had a blush on her face. "You look so good." He said, with a teasing smile and a light kiss.

"S-Stop. T-They are watching us." She said as she pushed him away from her. "P-Pervert."

"If it comes to you, I'm a super pervert." Naruto smirked as he kissed her neck before he backed away from her. He saw her face go scarlet red all the way up to the tip of her ears. "Daw~, you look so cute."

"Y-You idiot… stop fooling around!" Emilia turned away to hide her blushing face. She pushed her boyfriend's face away and pinched his cheek.

"W-What are you two doing in this public place, degenerates!" Beatrice seemed to have reached her limit when her eyes began to spin and her face went scarlet.

For the new people that were in the room with them, their relationship has changed remarkably since their first meeting.

"I don't know too much about you brother, or you, sister, but I get a sense of closeness between you two." Felt said with a thoughtful look on her face, seeming to ignore the atmosphere. "Correct me if I'm wrong. Old Man Rom told me if a man and woman were married, talking about you two, does this mean if you two were to have children, does this mean I'm going to be an aunty?"

Naruto and Emilia's faces turned scarlet suddenly as they looked at Felt with surprise.

Emilia felt as if she almost died from Felt's question. She might not know about romance, but she knows how babies are made. Her traitorous imagination began to use this knowledge against her when she was bombarded with images of her and Naruto doing… things and of little children that resembled them.

"Emilia?" Naruto asked as he noticed her gazing at him. His girlfriend let out a small giggle as she turned away from him.

Seeing her look so red, Naruto was concerned for a moment, so he grabbed her arm and pulled her to sit on his lap. He wrapped his arms around her waist and rested his chin on her shoulder, his cheek close enough to touch her cheek to feel how hot she was. For a moment she froze her imagination and finally accepted his touch.

Felt seemed to be even more curious about what was going on and ignored the heavy atmosphere. She threw her hands up when no one replied to her question.

"Whatever, I heard that this place had delicious food, I don't know about you but I'm starving. Let's go!"

* * *

Naruto opened his mouth and bit the food. "Delicious, but I want ramen…" He said sadly, he always wanted to eat ramen, it filled him with happiness.

"Since you're not enjoying the new foods as much, I cooked ramen for you. The people here were very nice to let me cook with their ingredients." The blue-haired girl said with a smile as she handed him the bowl.

"Naruto-oniichan." Felt said as she had a curious face.

"Yes, what is it?"

"What the heck is a ramen?"

* * *

**OVA 3**

"Naruto, are you okay?" Emilia asked as she watched her boyfriend lying his head on the table. She was sitting next to him while having lunch in the cafeteria with Rem, Ram, and Garfiel.

This poor guy had a terrible day of studying and trying to pay attention in class. He seemed to be starved of sleep for some months. She recalled how his head hit his desk immediately after the class began and the teacher began to speak.

"Naruto, I understand you don't like a school, but you gotta study." Rem scolded him.

"Don't want to…." Naruto whined like a child, if he could melt he was sure that he would be a puddle on the floor right now.

"Captain...I feel you…" Garfiel, who was next to him, was in the same position though it didn't seem as bad as Naruto's since he just seemed bored.

"Emilia-sama, do not feel sorry about Naruto. He's very lazy and he's acting like a child." Ram said with a frown, hating how lazy he was being.

"Don't say that, Ram." Emilia said as she stroked Naruto's hair with her hand gently. She tried to comfort him. "Naruto, you can't continue to act like this, the things that these people show us may be of importance later in life, who knows?"

"But Emilia… I don't want to!" The blond shinobi whined again with tears, looking at his girlfriend with a pout. His right cheek was immediately pinched and pulled like a rubber band by her. "Ow…! Why, Emilia…?!"

"Come on, Naruto. You need to study too or else we are going to be stuck in here forever." She said as she let go of his cheek and continued to eat her lunch. Her boyfriend gave her a puppy look on his face, and she giggled at his face.

She sighed as she leaned in and kissed his cheek to give him a little courage.

"I want it on my lips…" Naruto said with puppy eyes.

"If you work hard, you will." Emilia said with a cheeky smile.

* * *

"A talent show-kashira. How stupid." Beatrice said with a scowl, walking in the hallway alone passing by two men in uniform she decided to not even give them a look. However, she stopped when she noticed the two stopped to look at her weirdly.

She turned around and glared at them. "What are you staring at-kashira?!"

"Oh, I apologize, little girl." Lt. Koenig said.

"I'm not a little girl. Don't call me one. Now, will you get lost?" Beatrice turned away with a huff and began to walk again.

"Oh, excuse us, little girl." Lt. Neumann said, this time Beatrice was very tempted to open the portal that held the White Rabbit, maybe they survived, and she'd send the annoying man to be devoured.

But, she looked away and continued to walk."You're all equally infuriating!" She mumbled rapidly as she ignored them. She saw another man who dressed in the same uniform as the others but ignored him as she walked past by him.

Capt. Weiss noticed her angered expression and heard her mumbling when she passed by him. He looked at two men as he approached them. "Lt. Koenig. Lt. Neumann. Did you do something to upset that little girl?" He asked.

"No, nothing, sir." Lt. Koenig said.

"Are you sure?" Capt. Weiss looked at the little girl, who walked away. Then, he looked back at them. "She seemed extremely upset."

"Little girls are always a handful, Captain." Lt. Neumann said with a smile and small laugh.

"Just like a certain battalion commander?" Lt. Koenig was talking about their leader, Tanya.

"Yup."

"I'll tell her you said that in my next report." Capt. Weiss said.

"Please don't. She'll blast us into ash."

Beatrice growled quietly as she heard three men laugh about little girls. "What is Roswaal's thinking-kashira? I'll grab him and make him explain." She said as she reached for the office room and entered.

However, it seemed like Roswaal wasn't inside the office, but one man with eye-glasses and blue hair. He dressed in military uniform like the others. Slamming the door open, the man was startled as he turned around to confront the little girl.

"Um… your name is Beatrice, right?" Erich von Rerugen asked.

"Correct. And who might you be?" Beatrice asked, she had no more patience o deal with men in military uniforms.

"Um, first, you shouldn't talk to your teachers like that…"

"I haven't accepted you as my teacher. I'm here to talk to Roswaal-kashira. I'm not here to talk to you."

Erich swallowed and poked his glasses. "Beatrice, you mustn't talk to your teacher like that. You're all students here at this school. You're here to experience school life."

"Experience school life?" Beatrice remembered that Naruto told her to act as patient as possible with the teachers so she did just that. He also told her that if she wanted to blow off some steam to set some pranks to anger them but she wouldn't do that… yet. "Please tell Roswaal that Betty was here." The little smile the little girl sent him was very threatening.

"Umm… Very well. I will let him know that." Erich said as he watched Beatrice leave the room and slam the door shut. "Did I come on too strong? But you can't let your guard down around someone just because they're a little girl. I know for a fact…that there are demons in this world who wear the skin of little girls!"

* * *

"Achoo!"

"Do you have a cold?" Viktoriya asked Tanya.

"No…" She said, rubbing her nose.

"Goddess bless you!" Aqua said as she winked her eye and pointed at Tanya for sneezing.

"What's her deal?"

"I couldn't say…"

"Hey, show some gratitude! Or did you not understand what I was doing there? So get this. When somebody sneezes you say, 'God bless you!"

Hearing the word 'god', Tanya's eye twitched as it reminded her of that bastard "Being X". While she was in the subject of mysterious beings, Ainz just so happened to be passing by. Concentrating on him she narrowed her eyes.

"Naruto! You're here!" That loud voice interrupted Tanya's train of thought as she looked at Kazuma talking to the blond man.

"H-Hey. How do you know who I am?" Naruto asked with a confused expression as he shook Kazuma's hand.

"I know you so damn well! You're the hero of Konoha and a top manga in my list! Oh my gosh! I cannot believe I met you in real life! C-Can I have your autograph!? Can I take a picture of us?!" Kazuma pulled out his cellphone, thankfully this world had such technology, waiting for Naruto to answer his question.

Naruto blinked at Kazuma confused as to why he wanted to take a picture with him. "Sure, I don't mind." He said as he and Kazuma approached each other, and he raised the cellphone.

"I can't wait to take picture of us-"

"Kazuma!" Aqua screamed as she bumped into the two guys' back, knocking Kazuma to the ground. "We have to go to our classroom! Lunchtime is over-Kazuma?" She watched him cry over the cracked phone.

…

…

"WHY?!" Kazuma screamed at the sky.


	21. Chapter 21

**Credits to XPartan Caos for grammar, editing, and word choices.**

* * *

"You know, I'm beginning to grow numb to this kind of situation." Naruto told himself with a deadpan expression. He was standing in a great expansion of nothingness, the last thing he remembered was going to sleep.

At first glance, he was back to Satella's seal but upon further inspection, this wasn't the seal nor was Satella here, not that that stopped him from looking for her. He knew Satella was in a better place than this, so, naturally, his instincts were telling him this was a place to be wary of, not that he would since this was obviously a vivid dream… right?

"Satella?! Where are you?!" He called for her name for the hundredth time as he searched for her in this seemingly endless place. He was beginning to grow bored of just darkness all around him, how much time had passed since he fell asleep?

He stopped searching when a silhouette wearing a white dress appeared in front of him while he was looking around. As far as he knew Satella wore black clothes, not white, although they both had silver hair and had literally the same body. That couldn't be Satella, since he knew her energy signature, so that left the only other person he knew with such specific characteristics...

"Emilia?"

Emilia turned around to face him, surprised, and sprinted to hug him. Her arms wrapped around his neck, embracing the blond. He was very confused at the moment, but he hugged her back anyway. His azure eyes narrowed when he felt her abnormally cold body.

This was, for all interest and purposes, Emilia, but he was pretty confident something was off, like, for example, she was in this dark void and appeared out of literally nowhere.

"I was so lonely, Naruto. You just went back to your home and left me behind." Emilia's gentle voice spoke to him as she pulled away from the embrace, staring at him with cold, dead eyes.

"What are you talking about? I never left you behind. I-" He stopped talking when Emilia laughed. It was a chilling, hollow sound.

"No need to explain. I'm not angry. Your face is so pale." Emilia said with a giggle, or at least trying to imitate one. "It's ok, Naruto. I'm happy you came back for me. I was lonely, and I thought about crying... but, like all other times, you came back to me."

"Hey, what's wrong?" Naruto felt a chilling sensation grow on his chest when he held in his arms what could be confused as a puppet of the real Emilia, her eyes held no warmth and her tone reminded him of the emotionless Sai. "Come on, snap out of it."

"As long as I have you. I don't need anything else. Don't worry about me. Hehehe…" Emilia laughed softly as she looked at him with no small amounts of madness. "**I love you, Naruto."**

Naruto opened his eyes to see a dark roof, he took a deep breath and calmed himself before he looked at his side to confirm that she was still with him. He was rewarded with the image of a sleeping Emilia, her hair was a mess and she was drooling on his arm, but she felt… right, if that made any sense. He took another deep breath, she was okay, he had nothing to worry about… nothing.

He was very aware that he was dreaming at that moment but that laugh and that look spooked him to the core, that nightmare was worryingly realistic. He knew he was a very sentimental person, or so he was told, but to see Emilia, the woman he loved in that sickly state, even in a dream, was very shocking to him.

He felt his throat completely dry so he sat at the edge of his bed, careful not to wake Emilia, and took the glass of water he normally had at his nightstand, just in case he had this same situation. Once he was finished calming down he ran his hand through his face, he was a little sweaty, probably from that nightmare.

"Naruto?"

The blond dropped his head in defeat and chuckled at his girlfriend, he should've known she'd wake up, she was a light sleeper. He looked behind him to see a now awake Emilia, her eyes were barely open.

"Hey, sorry I woke you up."

"That's okay… Why are you awake, another nightmare?" Emilia asked with a concerned expression. These days it was almost normal for him to wake up in the middle of the night after a nightmare.

"... Yeah, but it was just another bad dream, that's it." He knew that he should've accepted that he was trapped in this dimension till further notice, but he couldn't help but be concerned for his friends on the other side. He tried to be mature about it and trust that they could take care of themselves, but he knew that, at the bottom of his heart, he was concerned for those he left behind. He was ignoring this more and more but it seemed that the stress was accumulating and now he was experiencing nightmares.

His tense shoulders relaxed when he felt her wrap her arms around him.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"... No, it's nothing important, just some random images my brain came up with." He said while he kissed her hand to assure her he was fine. She wasn't convinced, she was smarter than that, and he knew it, but she decided to drop the matter and just be with him.

Several minutes later, they finally decided to go back to sleep. Emilia pulled Naruto closer to her and rested her head on the crook of his neck. She pulled the large blanket over both of them. When the room grew quiet, she began to ponder something before she began to sing. "A small boy… You've wandered into this forest, but you're unable to see these giant wings~." She sang him a lullaby, he could feel her embarrassment at her own actions so he decided not to comment.

"Those round little cheeks don't know anything…" She continued. "Sleep now, sleep. Come rest in a quiet waterside. Your dreams will be carried upon a dragon's back to disappear beyond the mountains."

Naruto felt her magic react to her singing and enhanced it. Apparently, she was unaware that she had this power because Emilia just continued to sing without a care.

Emilia sang Naruto a whole lullaby until he finally fell asleep peacefully, letting her magic soothe his mind. She smiled and kissed his forehead.

"Sweet dreams, Naruto." She said before she fell asleep too, all the while remembering her own weird dream.

* * *

"What is this place?" Emilia looked around in a panic when she woke up in the middle of a completely white room. She distinctly remembered falling asleep with Naruto in their room, not in the middle of literal nothingness.

Her eyelids began to feel heavy when the atmosphere of this room finally hit her, it was like being in a warm blanket on a winter day, it was relaxing. She was tempted to once again fall asleep, that was until she hear a loud voice.

"Hello!" She spun around when two people appeared behind her, she immediately had two magic circles in her hands, ready to skewer whoever tried to attack her. She was surprised when she saw two humans, a man and a woman, looking at her with smiles.

"Hello?" Emilia replied unsure, feeling wary of them. The blond man was dressed in a white cloak and had spiky hair, she immediately noted that he lacked his two arms, and the red-haired woman wore a green dress with a white sleeveless blouse underneath.

"Are you Naruto's girlfriend?" The red-haired woman asked gently.

Emilia blinked her eyes several times, what an odd thing to ask. "Yes…? How do you know Naruto?" She asked as the woman squealed and basically teleported in front of her.

The red-haired woman released the brightest smile the half-elf had ever seen in someone other than Naruto. "We're his parents. My name is Kushina Uzumaki, and this is my husband, Minato Namikaze!" Kushina introduced herself and Minato.

"We've been watching our son's life and his interactions with you. Thank you for taking care of him." Minato said with a bow.

"You're… You're his parents. He told me about you two! Oh! You're very welcome Oh-sorry!" Emilia bowed to Naruto's parents politely and respectfully. "I-It's a pleasure! My name is Emilia!" She sounded nervous, she was before her boyfriend's parents after all.

"Oh my~ She sure is a polite one, isn't she?" Kushina said, still wearing the same smile as she lets go of Emilia's hand. "It's nice to meet Naruto's girlfriend finally. I see that my son told you about us."

"Yes, Naruto told me about you two, I'm sure you would be proud of the kind of man he is." Minato and Kushina shared an amused smile, if only she knew.

"I'm so happy he handled himself well. I know that I told him to find himself a girlfriend, but honestly, you blew away my expectations, I should thank you for that."

Hearing her kind words Emilia felt happy but her smile wavered when she remembered something. "But, are you two okay with this?" She asked nervously, causing Kushina and Minato to be confused.

"Something wrong, Emilia?" Minato asked.

"I'm not sure if you two heard about me. I… I am half-elf. You see..." After Emilia explained to the two the prejudice that came from being from such a race they were sad to find out that she experienced something very similar to their son. But even then… "What?! Y-You're okay with that! A-Are you sure?" Even then they accepted her with open minds.

"Listen, Emilia. It doesn't matter what you are or what people think of you. The only thing that matters is that you have people who believe in you and care about you, and more importantly, you have the one that loves you." Minato said with a gentle smile. It seemed that Emilia thought that they would mind her race. He couldn't hold it against her though, she didn't know that ninja were more preoccupied with killing one another than judging each other by their race or appearance… that was depressing, but hopefully, things changed after the war.

Emilia couldn't help but feel happy that his parents weren't like the humans in her world. "Thank you, Mr. Namikaze." She said with a relieved sigh, gaining an amused chuckle from Minato at her honorific.

She felt at peace when they talked about the things she and Naruto had done through the months they've known each other. The hours flew by and they didn't even notice until Kushina and Minato began to disappear.

"Y-You're leaving?" Emilia looked a little sad, wanting them to stay here and meet their son, Naruto.

"We had to leave since the beginning, we are already taking more time than we requested for." Minato said. "Emilia, don't give up on your dreams and hopes, one day you'll look back proudly to your accomplishments."

"I won't give up. It was nice meeting you-Miss. Uzumaki?" The half-elf saw Kushina open her arms wide, offering her a hug. She embraced the woman without hesitation, wrapping her arms around her waist.

"Please take care of Naruto for me. Make him happy, so he doesn't feel alone again. I love you, Emilia." Kushina said with a heart-warming smile, making Emilia widen her eyes.

Emilia's eyes widened at Kushina's words and felt a rising surge of happiness from within her heart. Tears began to well up in her eyes, and she felt pure joy. This feeling she had… Is this how it feels like hugging a mother?

When she opened her eyes, an empty pillow was the first thing she saw.

"Hey, sorry I woke you up"

"… That's okay… Why are you awake, another nightmare?"

* * *

The next morning, Emilia opened her amethyst eyes when the sun shined down on her closed eyelids. She slowly raised her head and looked at the sleepy blond, he was hugging her waist and his head was buried in her belly. She smiled and giggled at the position, it wasn't the first time she found herself in a weird position with him when they were waking up.

The memories from last night were slowly coming back to her and she had to admit that was one of the best dreams she's ever had. They were both very kind people, he clearly got it from them.

She used her hand to brush Naruto's blond bangs from his forehead and leaned in to kiss him on the forehead. She yawned, Naruto wasn't a morning person so he wasn't going to get up from bed for about another hour, so she laid back on the bed with Naruto, she wasn't a morning person either.

It took exactly one hour for Naruto to open his azure eyes, a pair of amethyst eyes greeted him immediately.

"Good morning." Emilia said softly as her hand stroked his cheek. "How are you feeling?"

Naruto pushed himself up into a sitting position. "I feel fine." He said with a smile on his face. "Thank you, Emilia."

"I'm just glad you're alright." She said with a small giggle.

Emilia smiled at Naruto as she leaned in forward to kiss him on the forehead, pulling away from him after she did, but his arms snaked around her waist to stop her. She couldn't help but hug him back.

"Hmmm… I thought you said you felt fine but your actions say otherwise. Do you want me to hug you again? Was that not enough?" She asked, her tone playful.

"I guess that would be nice." Naruto said, giving her a thumb up.

Emilia wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him down to reach his lips for a kiss. He buried his head in her chest and Emilia wrapped her arms around his head with a smile on her face.

"By the way, I didn't know you could sing. Where did you learn it?" Naruto asked.

"Well, I'm terrible at singing, but my aunt Fortuna sang me a lullaby when I went to the bed as a child, so I practiced her lullaby." Emilia said.

"Really? That's impressive. I'm afraid I'll need you to sing again when I… you know…" He really liked her singing the first time, it was very soothing.

"Of course, Naruto. Anything for you. Shall we get up and greet everyone?" She asked.

"That'll be a good idea."

"Let's go, Naruto!"

"Yes."

* * *

"Naruto, I-I'm so sorry!"

"Hahahaha! You looked hella funny!"

Emilia's face was red with embarrassment, and Garfiel laughed hard.

Naruto's face was covered with flour and an unfinished pancake was blocking his vision. It seemed that Emilia had very little to no cooking skills, so she flung a pancake across the room when she was mixing the ingredients.

Why were they cooking with others? Well, apparently it was a nice way to form bonds with others, or so he was told.

"L-Let me clean your face." Emilia said as she cleaned her boyfriend's face with a towel.

He found himself thanking the heavens for the twins, the only people that could cook in the entire mansion, aside from other maids and butlers. He was currently learning how to cook anything besides instant ramen, if boiling water and adding it to a cup was considered cooking.

"If you go slow, you can mix it very well." Rem said once he was clean.

"Yes, I can see that." Naruto said with dull eyes, his nose had flour too, making it difficult to breathe.

"Emilia-sama, you should watch us too. You need to learn how to cook." She looked at the silver-haired girl, who nodded and joined them.

Naruto noted that, similar to Emilia, Wilhelm was having trouble mixing his pancakes, something he had said was his weakness, seeing as the simple recipe was too simple, he didn't bother leaning it and actually never learned how to make them.

Fortunately, Reinhard was there too, and while the Sword Saint was having as much trouble, they had each other to help.

It was very nice seeing Wilhelm and Reinhard ac like they are family. Wilhelm tried to thank him for it but he, of course, declined his thanks and said that the only thing he had done was to plant the idea in their heads that maybe the past was not worth fighting for, and that the two had formed a bond of their own free will. He seemed to appreciate the gesture since he said nothing more after that.

He smiled at their interactions until a sickly strong smell of alcohol hit his nose almost making him barf. This was just as bad as Jiraiya's smell after he was dragged out of a brothel.

"It isn't so easy, honored father. Don't think that your relationship will be fixed with just that."

That touching moment was spoiled in the worst way when a red-haired figure threw open the door of the tea room. The face of the red-haired man who'd spoken those words carried so much malice that everyone froze on the spot, or in Naruto's case, scowl.

His behavior and attitude all betrayed an ugly nature. A rather repulsive smile spread across his unshaven face. He looked to be in his forties and carried the unpleasant scent of alcohol about him.

"Who the fuck are you?" Garfiel asked as he eyed the redhead who came to stink the room with his repulsive smell.

The red-haired man scowled at the blonde kid. "What's with the ugly look, kid? Hey, Sword Saint. Or Juukulius, or even Argyle. Cut down this rude kid for me." He said as he pointed at Garfiel, making the kid get up from his seat, ready to just transform the man into nothing more than a red stain in the walls.

Garfiel gritted his teeth and was about to attack him when Frederica stopped him as she grabbed his arm. He turned to his sister, and she shook her head a 'no'. He took a deep breath and relaxed his posture, remembering his lessons, he couldn't let his emotions be as apparent when facing smug bastards like this one.

"Ferris is present, Reinhardt and Naruto as well." It was Julius's turn to speak, who had stood up at some point, gently placing a hand on Naruto's shoulder from behind. The knight nodded slightly at blond shinobi, then turned to face the man. "We three are on temporary leave from our normal duties due to serving our specific masters. Therefore, even the deputy head should not hold the right to command us."

"Yep. Ferri-chan is now an obedient servant to the venerable Crusch-sama~. Therefore, I have nyo obligation to comply with the order." Ferris spoke to the red-haired man as he offered an immediate follow-up to Julius's words.

Naruto, intrigued, tapped his finger on Julius' shoulder, and the knight turned around to face him.

"Who is that?" Naruto asked with a raised eyebrow.

"That's Heinkel van Astrea. He's Reinhard's father and Wilhelm's son." Julius said, as if telling a secret.

Naruto widened his eyes slightly in shock as he looked at the drunk man. This alcoholic man is the father of Reinhard and the son of Wilhelm. This absolutely disgusting person was related to two of the most righteous people he knew, how?!

While he was looking at Wilhelm with an apologetic expression, Heinkel's eyes caught his form and he pointed at him like some sort of disrespectful child, his arrogant face transforming into a scowl.

"I heard of you, you little shit. You took away my father's victory over the Hakugei! Who do you think you are to prevent my father from avenging my mother!" Heinkel scowled at the blond shinobi.

Naruto looked at him like he was seeing an annoying brat and directed his look towards Wilhelm. The poor man was actually covering his face with his gloved hands, ashamed. He said the man's name as if it was some sort of burden. "What do you want, Heinkel?"

"Just calling me once is fine. I've yet to lose my hearing from old age. Well, treat that as nonsense and ignore it. More importantly—" Heinkel responded to Wilhelm's bitter voice by sticking a finger into his ear as he closed his blue eyes, clearly unaffected by his disappointment. Then, he opened them to look at Wilhelm and Naruto. "This brat didn't deserve to kill Hakugei. He stole your victory, but now you respect him like some sort of slave."

"Naruto didn't kill Hakugei because he was looking for glory!" Rem said, almost yelling at Heinkel as she stood next to Naruto and defended him from his glare. "He killed it because of the lives it has taken, including your mother's! If it weren't for him, I'm sure a lot more mothers and fathers would've died."

Naruto gently placed a hand on Rem's shoulder, he appreciated her gesture but it seemed that her words were wasted on someone like this man. "I had no choice, but to steal your father's victory. I killed Hakugei to protect my comrades before anyone could get hurt. I'm not that type of person who would abandon others just because they want the kill for themselves." He was having a very heated glaring contest with the man in front of him, their blue eyes attempting to glare holes in the other's head.

Heinkel, who had been scratching his head, was shaken by Naruto's momentum. When he stared into the boy's eyes, it was clear he was facing a warrior. He wasn't the most brave person in the world so their determination actually scared him.

He looked at his son, Reinhard. "With this, father has finally avenged the previous Sword Saint who you murdered, isn't that right?" He asked.

_"Previous Sword Saint?"_ Naruto thought out loud as he looked at Reinhard.

"The murderer of the previous Sword Saint." Heinkel continued. "Although I don't know exactly how ignorant you are, you have to be familiar with the title of Sword Saint, right? Our current Sword Saint is the most powerful hero of our day… but that was something he got from murdering his predecessor, his own grandmother. Although that fact was immediately hidden from public knowledge."

"Silence, Heinkel! You… just how far are you intending to go?" Wilhelm yelled at Heinkel, filled with anger as his fists clenched tightly.

"If you want to say something that sounds nice, then please stop, father. The reason is nothing other than that you simply don't have the right to disagree with me. After all, when the last Sword Saint died, the first to condemn Reinhardt was none other than you."

Heinkel's words contained a dense, noxious poison of abhorrence. And the contents of his speech were no more than vulgar curses toward his family members.

"Is it hard to communicate now? Of course, it is. It's been this way for fourteen years. Neither you nor my father have changed at all. Without change, you can't reconcile. Would Thearesia van Astrea forgive such a selfish affair? My dead mother is cursing us. Three generations, and none of us have been forgiven."

"...Someone who never became Sword Saint, has no right making fun of one who has…" The voice was sharp and serious.

Everyone turned to Naruto, who spoke out as his gaze locked on Heinkel.

"What did you say, kid?" Heinkel asked, his hand dangerously close to his sword.

"But more than anything…" Naruto vanished in a flash and appeared inside Heinkel's guard, stopping him from drawing his sword. "How dare you talk like that toward your own flesh and blood!" When the man threw a punch, he now had a reason to fight back. Naturally, Emilia would look bad if he attacked someone just because his emotions were out of control, so the man had to throw the first punch, so he could claim self-defense.

He punched him in the face and a loud crack was heard by everyone in the room. His punch sent the red-head rolling on the ground, the impact having stolen the air out of his lungs and his nose was now bloody.

Wilhelm was shocked when he saw his friend punch his son for insulting Reinhard. That was a surprise to see.

Heinkel stopped rolling when a wall stopped him painfully. His angry eyes stared at the boy, who punched him in the face. "You little brat! How dare you!?" His hand flew to the hilt of his sword but grasped nothing but air, he saw his opponent looking down a him with his sword in hand, as if to mock him.

A new set of footsteps sent everyone on edge.

"Enough of this. You'll waste your life if you fight him." It was Priscilla Barielle's speaking, one of the candidates of the Royal Election. "So is this it? Frozen faces in a lifeless environment. Do you like this stale air so much? Or is it that every time we meet, such an atmosphere forms? If so, that's incredibly pitiful." She frowned as she looked throughout the room and spoke in a provocative tone while fanning her face.

It wasn't too long to have her recognizing everyone but it seemed she only had eyes for the blond man dressed in civilian attire. The man who killed Sin Archbishop Sloth, Hakugei, and Oousagi. Rumors were surrounding this young man lately.

Priscilla approached him, an extra sway to her hips. "I have heard that you defeated the Sin Archbishop of Sloth, Hakugei, and Oousagi. It seems I was right about you since the first day we met. You're a powerful knight." She said, but it turned out to be disappointing when she saw him and the silver-haired witch together. Emilia was looking at her through narrowed eyes, her hand was holding him in a way that told her that he was off-limits.

"Princess, I think it'll be best not to take him away. He's already Emilia-sama's knight." That was Al's voice as he came into the hotel and stood beside Priscilla. "Hey there, brother. It's been a while since our last meeting in the royal selection."

"Hey, Al. I never thought I would see you again, not in Pristella." Naruto said as he and Al both shook their hands.

"Yeah, man. Honestly, I had the same thought. Oh, I almost forgot! Congratulation for becoming Emilia-sama's knight. I think you will do a fine job to protect her life." Al said with a thumbs up.

"Thanks, Al."

"You're a little late, Priscilla-sama. How long were you going to make me act alone? I heard that you were supposed to be coming earlier." Heinkel interrupted him as he walked toward Priscilla, still wary of Naruto, who had his sword in hand.

"Silence, commoner. You will dance as ordered to. Until I give the order to stop, you are expected to dance until you die. Those who misunderstand their duties or attempt to correct a mistake they believe I made are condemned to death." Priscilla said as she watched the red-haired man rub his jaw after he got punched by Naruto. "Also, commoner. That's really embarrassing for letting a young man punch you. Are you really an Astrea?"

Heinkel clenched his teeth and looked away from his employer, embarrassed.

As Heinkel sulked, Naruto raised his gaze and walked over to Al. "So...this man right there… Is he one of yours?" He whispered.

"Yeah, a couple of months ago he came in contact with her, and ever since he's been with us." Al said with a sigh.

Naruto crossed his arms and nodded to Al. Well, he could rest without a care knowing there was more than one witness that saw Heikel throwing the first punch.

But, why in the world would Priscila let him join her camp?

* * *

After Naruto finished chatting with everyone, he left the hotel with Emilia, Beatrice, and Rem. He was going to bring Garfiel and Frederica along, but they had something they needed to do.

"I see. We're going to see Liliana Masquerade. I heard she's a singer who has the Divine Protection of Telepathy." Rem said, remembering the children told her that they wanted to meet her.

"Oh, yes. She's amazing. I think it's pretty cool that she uses her gift to entertain others." Emilia said, yesterday they caught the end of her song and Emilia loved it.

"I'm excited to see her." Rem said with a smile. "The children spoke wonders of her."

"Indeed, I can't hold my excitement." Emilia said with a smile.

They walked through the beautiful city until they reached a particularly crowded area.

"Wow, so many people." Rem said amazed, looking at the crowd here to see Liliana.

They arrived at their destination, the entrance to the park. The fountain located at the center of the city's park showed an unexpected spectacle. The audience gathered in the park was larger than yesterday where clone Naruto and Emilia found her.

"Is it just me or is the audience larger than yesterday?" Naruto wondered, seeing the crowd gathered, however, that thought turned out to be just a mere worry. Today's performance seemed upbeat, with both rallies and applause from fanatical listeners, an atmosphere that dominated the park.

"Oh my. So many clapping and yelling. She must be very famous." Rem said.

"Everyone seems to be enjoying themselves. She really deserves to be called The Songstress." Emilia was eager to push through the hustle and bustle to have a good look.

When she's pushed through the audience, Naruto yelled for her to 'stop' but it seemed she was determined, that or she couldn't listen.

Naruto began to push through the crowd but stopped for a second when his instincts screamed at him. He felt an uneasy sense of danger, like a thunder strike on his back. His eyes turned dark for a few seconds, they were sharp and serious, no longer his normal self.

He wondered why he had that feeling? Perhaps Regulus was watching him… No, that couldn't be it, it felt different.

_"Maybe, I should check it out later…"_ Naruto thought as he pushed through the crowd. When he finally found himself in front of the crowd, he frowned as he identified a familiar woman in a red dress.

"That was a really amazing dance! After seeing this extraordinary dance I started to lose myself!" It was Liliana Masquerade, the singer.

She's a brown-skinned girl with bright yellow hair tied in two tails and big round eyes of the same color. She wore revealing clothes, an orange cape, and decorates her hair and body with ornaments that use nuts and animal bones.

"Not at all, your performance and singing were what captured my attention so completely. Just as it deserved to. It's been a long time since I've seen such a display of skill." Priscilla said.

When Liliana turned around to her audience, she noticed the people with blond spiky hair, silver hair, and cream hair. "Oh, hey! If it isn't Uzumaki-sama and Emilia-sama! And Uzumaki-sama's little girl-sama! Oh, a new face with a maid uniform!" She called their names and looked at Rem with wonder in her eyes.

"My name is Rem." She said as she bowed before her.

"You dance for the masses? I'm surprised that you could do that." Naruto said honestly, looking at Priscilla as he crossed his arms and noticed she didn't have someone to look out for her. "Are you alone? Al isn't with you."

"I allowed Schultz to go for a walk, but he seems to have gotten lost. He tries very hard, but he's good for nothing at everything he does, that's the cute kind of child he is. Since Al's constant nagging is annoying, I sent him out to look for Schultz. As for the damn bastard, I am unsure, but he's really pissed for what you did to him. If I'm correct about his location, he's at a tavern somewhere, drinking his shame away."

He sighed in relief when she said that the redhead wasn't with her, their first meeting had left a bitter taste in his mouth. He wondered if Priscilla was safe in this crowd without any guards. Moreover, that feeling of danger had only grown since he felt it and it was beginning to bother him.

"Naruto, where are you going?"

"There's something I need to do, I'll be back in 5 or 10 minutes."

Emilia blinked her eyes in confusion, but she nodded anyway. "Okay, Naruto. Be careful." She said before she got a gentle kiss on her knuckles from Naruto.

Priscilla watched the whole interaction between Naruto and Emilia. "Say… tell me about you and Naruto." She said as Emilia turned and looked at her.

"What was that?"

"You and Uzumaki. It somehow made me feel disgusted to see you together with him. I don't quite understand why he would join a half-witch's camp. Just because he's strong that doesn't mean you can command him whenever you want." Priscilla said.

"Naruto isn't a tool or whatever you think of him." Emilia said gently, she had to be patient and respectful, this was a noble and a fellow candidate. "He serves me of his own free will. Besides, I'm sure you wouldn't be able to recruit him, like he said you wanted to. You have shown him nothing but arrogance and disrespect, he's not the kind of person that would ally himself with someone like you."

Priscilla was taken aback by Emilia's words, not expecting her to just insult her like that. No, that girl in the ceremony wouldn't have done so, but this Emilia was different, changed. She looked with interest on her stoic face, was this Uzumaki's influence? The girl she knew could barely talk in front of an audience, nor was she confident enough to be in public without the use of a hood, so this was surely due to his influence.

In seconds, that expression disappeared and Priscilla turned away from her and focused on Liliana. She unfolded her red fan to cover her face. Her eyes were still staring at the half-elf, not turning her head to Emilia, but vigilant all the same.

"You're lucky to have him." Priscilla mumbled quietly, looking at the drastic changes this girl has had in just some months with her knight.

Emilia heard her mumbling. "Did you say something?" She asked, not looking at her.

"It's nothing. It's none of your business." She said. This visit to the park had proven to be very interesting.

* * *

Garfiel was walking through the pristine roads of Pristella, on his way to meet Garek Thompson, his stepfather.

His feelings toward the man were bittersweet, really. He had nothing but respect and gratitude for the man who not only saved his mother, but also loved her and gave her children, his brother and sister, but at the same time, as a son, he couldn't help but be jealous, his mother loved a man more than she loved him, her flesh and blood. Although he wanted nothing more than for their mother to be happy, he couldn't help but resent her for losing her memories, he resented her for forgetting them.

He felt abandoned but relieved. He felt very happy but also very jealous. He… didn't know how to feel. So, he was heading toward the man to finally sort out his feelings.

Since Garfiel knows that his stepfather is Prestella's Metropolitan Director, the location where he works should be near now. When he arrived at the building his jaw dropped, this was ridiculous, why was this building so big?

"A-Am I even in the right place?" Garfiel wondered, remembering what his mom told him about her husband. "Holy shit! Am I supposed to find him in this ridiculous building… this is bullshit." He sighed, he wasn't going to run away from this.

He was about to enter the building when the coppery scent of blood reached his nose. He focused and found no noises being made in such a big building. His jade eyes scanned around the area in the front gate, no guards. He rapidly entered the building and the first thing that greeted him were corpses everywhere he saw.

He was about to look for his stepfather when his inhuman senses caught the sound of a pair of footsteps rapidly approaching his position.

He immediately leaped from his position on the stairs, which were destroyed a second later. The dust forced him to jump farther away from the stairs.

Two shadows peered at him from the remains of the beautifully crafted stairs and he froze for a second.

One of them was a giant of a man, leisurely holding a large sword in each hand. The other was a slender, delicate woman, holding a long sword in her grip. Both were wearing black headdresses, and Garfiel was unable to confirm their identity.

"Who are you two?!" Garfiel asked, already channeling magic. He waited for them to answer him, but neither responded to Garfiel's words.

The two he was facing seemed to be dreary, ominous ghosts. They were strong, really strong, and he was alone to fight them.

He needed backup, although that was easier said than done. There was no way they would just let him go away.

Garfiel hated doing this to himself, his pride was screaming at him to fight, but he had to retreat and report to Naruto. 'I should tell the captain about this…but those two won't let me escape.'

When they were about to leap at each other, a sonic boom forced the figures to scatter. Garfiel looked behind him to see a cute child.

"Mimi followed you here! We have to run!" She said. What was Mimi doing here?!

Garfiel took the opportunity to flee immediately and took Mimi in his arms. He saw the flash of steel at the corner of his eye and activated his right shield, blocking the attack of the agile woman, he used the block to his advantage and almost shattered her skull with a shield bash to the head, sending her flying back.

The woman wasn't the one who worried him, it was the man, if he somehow caught up to him, he was done. The man was clearly a tank, just as he was, so while they fought the woman would use that to her advantage and worn him down with hit and run tactics. It was a simple tactic but that didn't make it less useful.

He jumped from a window, protecting Mimi with his body. When they touched the floor, he immediately sprinted to get away from the carnage as fast as possible. This was bad, those were clearly the uniforms of the witch-cult, Emilia and Rem had very detailed descriptions of them.

* * *

Naruto smiled at the new present he brought from the store. He didn't seem to find the disturbance anywhere, but that didn't stop him from buying a nice gift from the beautiful city for Emilia. He continued searching the street when he found a familiar mop of white hair.

Naruto sighed as he started to check if he was doing something fishy, after all, he was a criminal. When he tapped on his shoulder, he turned around and looked angry, but when he recognized him his anger was replaced with fear.

"H-Hey, Naruto! What are you doing here?" Larkins asked.

"Looking for something. What are you doing here? Where are your two friends?" Naruto asked him about the two thugs who were with him when he arrived here. Although he was here to interrogate the man about his criminal escapades he was glad to see he was well, he was one of the first faces he remembered in this world, even if he tried to rob him.

"I'm working. Since you beat me and told me to get a real-what is that?!" He pushed him lightly and headed for the crowd. Naruto followed him when he saw a crowd in the middle of the street pointing at something.

He looked at the tall building, a clock tower. He began to wonder why the crowd was here for. Maybe there was an event today.

"Gosh, honestly. Please excuse me, I'm very sorry." There, a figure stood, staring out from the open window of the clock tower, dangerously close to its edge. It drew the attention of everyone nearby, and its voice trembled as if bathing in the weight of all that attention.

The figure's head was entirely wrapped in bandages, leaving only its dazzling eyes uncovered. Its body was wrapped tightly with a black jacket, and both wrists were captured by a long chain, the ends of which dragged on the ground, swaying both left and right as their owner paced the tower.

_"Who is this woman? Her clothes are almost like-"_ His thought were interrupted by the woman.

"My apologies, I am called Sirius Romanee-Conti, the Witch Cult's Sin Archbishop of Wrath."

"Just now, what did that bastard say? Did you hear it!?" Larkins asked incredulously, and judging from the noise the crowd made, they couldn't believe it either. "Is she for real?!"

Without a word, Naruto adjusted the pair of black gloves he had on as a part of his uniform and took out the simple sword at his side, some noticed this and began to part the way for him, afraid of the weapon and of it's wilder.

"Ah, I almost forgot! I have someone I wanted to show you!" Naruto stopped when Sirius spoke with a friendly voice as she pulled someone through the window.

A little boy moaned and writhed in her grasp, he was only about ten years old, his entire body, from ankles to shoulders, was wrapped with a chain. He was also gagged with that chain, the corners of his mouth dripping blood. Only his neck and above were freed as he desperately moved his head, crying and shouting as much as he could.

"I'm sorry that you're so scared. However, as a man, crying like this isn't good-GAH?!" Sirius was kicked in the stomach by the blond man making her drop to her knees when the air in her lungs escaped, he caught the child and used his sword to cut the chain that held him, his sword glowing with a green aura. The boy cried out in panic when he began to fall to his death, but he was caught by a copy of the blond.

The clone held the boy in his arms, not letting him go until they landed on the ground safely. He broke the chain that covered his mouth so he could speak. He looked at the boy, who finally spoke to him.

"P-Please save my friend Tina!" The boy cried, eyes watering and lips quivering. Naruto widened his eyes a fraction. The clone dispersed once the child was surrounded by concerned adults to relay the information to his creator.

Naruto was running through the clock tower searching for a girl named Tina. He heard a moan upstairs, so he ran toward the bell, the top of the tower.

He found the chained young girl, she was crying and trying in vain to free herself. Naruto immediately grabbed the girl's body, cutting a chain with extreme care to not hurt her with his wind.

Once the girl was free, she was handed to a clone who began to run on the side of the building toward the crowd. She reunited with the boy and they both hugged while crying. They were both hugged by their parents. He got out of the tower too, he wasn't going to allow any more hostages.

Seeing them together, Naruto's vision blurred for a second, but he just shook his head to be rid of it. That was weird, he felt like Kurama was trying to take over his body but this felt much more weaker. The people in the audience looked wobbly for a second and they began to vomit for some reason, started to spasm as they exhaled, and collapsed in the pool of their own vomits.

He held the little boy in his arms and shook him to see if he would wake up, but he didn't. He tried to walk to the boy but before he could try something else, Sirius suddenly appeared in front of him, holding two gold chains with hooks, forcing him to jump away with the children toward the tower.

She swung them down, her sharp hooks flew toward Naruto's body. With a loud bang, the chains smashed the stairs as Naruto dodged by leaping away from her attacks.

"I should help the children first." Naruto thought as he jumped out of the window and escaped, but Sirius began to chase him. He made ten copies of himself that took the children to safety, better to be careful than sorry.

He tackled the woman to the pavement below to stop her from following the children. She got up and tried to open his stomach while he was on his back, but he caught her hand and sent a devastating high kick towards her head, stunning her. He got up and followed with a devastating combo of palm strikes and finished with a brutal hit on her stomach that sent Sirius's body crashing inside the tower. She tried to get up, but her hands were pinned above her head and impaled by a sword, immobilizing her.

Naruto created a Rasengan in his hand to finish her off, but he heard her laugh loudly, making him hesitate. When he looked at her eyes, he was weirded out to see pure desire in her eyes.

Why was Sirius laughing? This wasn't good.

"Wait a minute… Those whiskers! Your unique mana! Darling, is that you!? Where have you been!?" Her high-pitched sonorous voice overflowed with obvious enthusiasm. "No matter where I looked, I couldn't find you, even after I'd torn your spares open, I still couldn't find you anywhere."

"What…?" Naruto was confused when she knows him barely.

Sirius's mouth twisted into a mad smile. "My ideal was reached! Because I want to be one with you — you finally noticed the wish that I'd been praying for! Because my love has finally reached you!" She said as she stared at the blond man. "I've always been waiting for only you… my dear, dear Petelgeuse Romanee-Conti!"

Hearing her words, Naruto hesitated, his interest was peaked. "Dear Petelgeuse?" The light that the golden Rasengan emanated was growing dimmer by the second.

According to Emilia's story, Juice was in love with Fortuna, Emilia's aunt, or at least it seemed that way. So, for this woman with purple eyes and silver hair, very specific characteristics he could only associate with one another, to be screaming her love for Petelgeuse was worrying to a new degree.

Naruto's hand gently grasped the bandages at the side of her head, praying, hoping beyond hope that if he tears them from her head he wouldn't find Emilia's aunt looking at him with loving eyes, that he wouldn't find pointy ears.

"Please don't be so silent, Petelgeuse. You're such a mean-spirited person. See, you're already, already, already giving me that usual cold attitude… it makes me really anxious!" Sirius said, her breath was ragged, interpreting his touch in a whole different way. Her voice woke him up from his musings making him retrieve his hand as if he'd been burnt.

"I'm sorry. You're mistaking me for someone." Naruto said as he powered up his Rasengan, regardless of who was behind the bandages, they were part of a cult plagued with murderers and psychopaths, she needed to die. "Kill her! Kill her! Kill her! Kill her!" He heard the mob cheer for him, eagerly awaiting the execution of the psycho woman, calling for vindication.

Eyes filled with bloodlust, mouths twisted in snarls, howling for murder. His emotion-sensing was going nuts with the amounts of bloodlust each emitted.

**Matatabi perked up in the seal, she felt something familiar, something she felt from the man with a scythe that captured Yugito. She had a feeling that Naruto killing Sirius would be a bad idea. "Couldn't be that...she-" She had no time to think as she shouted at Naruto, who was ready to kill Sirius.**

Her voice reached Naruto as he stopped his attack and looked at Matatabi in the mindscape. _"Huh? What is it? Why did you stop me?"_

**"Don't kill her! Whatever you do, don't kill her! If you kill her, her death will cause everyone else to die instantly!" Matatabi said with panic.**

Naruto widened his eyes in shock as he looked at the mob, they already had injuries on the same spot as Sirius's spot, more than one was holding their hands with pain in their eyes. "H-How?" He wondered as he looked back to Sirius, who still wore the same smile. "What did you do to them?!" He demanded.

"You don't remember, my dear Petegeause? That is my Authority of Wrath."

"Authority of Wrath-Woah!" Naruto let out as he dodged the large blade, nearly cutting his head off. He looked and found a beastman, who held a large blade.

The beastman continued to attack Naruto, but he grabbed the arm that held his blade and threw a knee kick on his stomach. However, when he did it, the crowd rolled as they grunted in pain. Naruto, while worried, still hit the beastman in the head to knock him out.

He was shocked, even if he didn't really mean it he was harming dozens of innocents.

"What's going on? How am I supposed to take them down without harming them?" He was very familiarized with various authorities, he knew how dangerous they could be.

He began to think. Asuma, according to Shikamaru's description, died when Hidan managed to get in his ritualistic circle and injured himself enough for Asuma to die. There was a problem in all that, however, he was immortal, or at least incapable of dying of his injuries, and used a ritual. With that information though, he could tell that she had to have a range for her Authority, similar to Hidan, who could only kill while in his circle, and she wasn't immortal, if she didn't she'd be harming herself and threatening all the citizens, not just a crowd.

This situation, while bad, wasn't the worst, so, he hid. He created a lot of clones to rescue each of the enraged citizens.

_"Well, now it's just a waiting game."_ Naruto thought. He suddenly got a headache again as he dropped to his knee. _"Not again! What's this disgust feeling?!"_ He tried to stand up, but the damn headache was so annoying.

"My dear Petegeause~." Sirius said with a smile as she approached the blond man, reaching for his face with her hands but he slapped them away from him. She was a little shocked when she watched him stand up.

Naruto tilted his head up to Sirius, taking a deep breath as he released a yellow chakra burst, similar to the first Hokage. It directly hit Sirius as she flew over and landed on the ground. It didn't damage her, but it was enough to knock her back and not hurt the crowd.

He repeated the same thing again and again until his clones evacuated the civilians. At which point he had enough time to figure out what to do if she didn't have a range.

_"Shukaku, lend me your chakra!"_ Naruto called out the one-tailed beast's name as he opened his palm and created a Rasengan with the beast's cursed seal markings. His azure eyes changed briefly into sun-colored eyes with a pattern of stars in them. "Senpou: Jiton Rasengan (Sage Art: Magnet Style Rasengan)!"

He charged closer to Sirius and struck her stomach with his Magnet Rasengan, the markings quickly spread across her body. His Magnet Rasengan had immobilized Sirius so that she wouldn't escape, but if her crowd was still being affected by her magic, he didn't know.

**"You son of a bitch. I'm surprised you remembered that move I gave you for Madara." Shuhaku grinned. "Damn, this bitch really wants you."**

_"I really don't want to talk about it...but...why does she think I'm Petelgeuse?"_ Naruto was confused why Sirius called him Petelgeause. Since Sirius was sealed, he could use a clone to take to prison, and Reinhard knows what to do with her.

He summoned a clone and told it to take Sirius to the authorities. He had to explain to the guards all about Sirius's Authority and how to counter it. Now that that was done for, he needed to head back for Emilia-

"Fuck me, how could I be so careless…" Naruto said worriedly as he suddenly vanished into a yellow flash and ran after for Emilia. Why did he leave her in the first place, knowing she had a stalker several times stronger than her?

* * *

Naruto was running from rooftop to rooftop, his face was one of concentration and the orange pigmentation around his eyes signaled the use of Sennin Mode.

He arrived at his destination, a rooftop overlooking the park where he carelessly left Emilia. It didn't take long for him to spot her in the arms of a familiar white haired male, Regulus. He was surrounded by craters and ice spikes, signaling a battle that the girl's didn't win.

"We meet again. As promised, I'm here to take her as my 79th wife." Regulus smiled cockily.

"You sick fuck! What did you do to my friends!?" Naruto demanded angrily, powering up a Rasengan on his hand. His technique began to turn a hateful vermillion when he saw Regulus exploring Emilia's body, his eyes, previously orange, began to turn a darker shade with cross shaped pupils. "If you touch her, I'll rip the light from your eyes!"

"You mean the maid and the little girl? They're fine, I don't want my bride to be lonely." He said. "I think that if my bride finds one of her attendants gone, she'll be lonely, and if I don't invite enough people, she'll be rather fickle. So I won't kill you, be grateful."

"If you insist on going through this, then I'm going to kill you right now!" Naruto yelled as he started to charge him.

However, Regulus gave a confident smile, confident in something that made him hesitate for a second, he tapped the ground gently with his toes, confusing him.

Although it was a gesture of comfort, as if adjusting his shoes, his foot dug neatly into the stone slab as if it were a shovel driving into soft ground. The wreckage of the slate flew toward Naruto. Bullets of soil that seemed to defy gravity. Some of them brushed the outside of Naruto's right foot, tracing red, bloody gashes across his skin.

The next moment, his foot vanished. On his right foot, the white bone, pink flesh, and yellow marrow were cleanly exposed in a twisted cross section. His veins had all been severed, blossoming with blood.

**"What was that?!" Chomei asked as he saw Naruto's right foot suddenly get hit. "H-How?!"**

**"I don't know, but that guy is troublesome. Naruto, you have to use Bijuu mode now!" Kurama yelled.**

Naruto gritted his teeth in pain. He was unable to support his own weight he tumbled to the ground. The wound was large, but he wasn't too worried about it as his wound started to heal up, stopping the bleeding.

"Oh wow." Regulus was amazed at Naruto's healing factor. "I'm very impressed that you can heal in so little time, but can you actually beat me?"

"We won't know…" Naruto's body disappeared behind the golden flames of his Bijuu mode. "...till we try-" He dropped his transformation when he felt his right arm and his left leg vanish, much like his foot, his ribs cracked when another bullet hit his unprotected body.

Regulus sighed and his eyes closed, he shook his head in disappointment. "I told you nicely, but you still want to keep going." He said, watching Naruto fall off the rooftop.

He sighed, this time in relief, the amount of mana that transformation released was titanic, it made him attack in panic, hoping to distract him from it with pain, and it worked, thankfully. Whatever that was, was dangerous he didn't want to see it again.

Naruto tried to move again, he was in a lot of pain, the sensation of losing his arm and his feet was driving him over the edge, he could only see Regulus back as he hurried off.

He had to ask himself, how? That attack wasn't nearly as fast, so why did it hit him? Was all this peace making him weaker? All these questions and more were playing in his mind while his sight faded.

He heard a voice, but he couldn't be bothered.

"Naruto-kun!"

* * *

**OVA 4**

"Naruto, what's wrong with him?" Emilia asked as she pointed her finger at Kazuma, who had his face buried on the desk.

"Aqua bumped on us, and Kazuma screamed and cried when his photographing brick hit the floor and broke." He said, trying to explain technology beyond his understanding, making Emilia interested too, having never heard of such invention either.

Kazuma, who sat on his seat, cried for not taking a picture with his idol Naruto, and the fact that his phone broke, was even worse. It was because of that useless goddess, Aqua! All he wanted was to take a picture with Naruto and show it to his friends in his homeworld if he got out of this stupid school and that horrible fantasy world.

The slide door was opened as Tanya walked inside the classroom toward Ainz, who sat on his seat without a care in the world.

"We need to talk." Tanya said.

'Huh? She wants to talk to me?' Ainz thought.

"When classes are over, come to the park near the school."

"I'm more than willing to talk here."

"No, I want to talk in private."

Lightning struck Albedo's mind as she was immediately jealous and her aura leaked out, releasing her demonic aura. "You want to talk to Ainz-sama… my Ainz-sama… in private?" She asked, her voice betrayed how much she was holding back from destroying the little girl.

"Calm down, Albedo!" Ainz tried to calm her down, but she wouldn't listen, her dark intentions had already attracted the attention of the one person he had to get off his back.

"Impossible! If this girl wants to seduce you, I'll slap her silly! Squash her flat! Pulverize her!" She said.

"Albedo, you're talking to a child." He said desperate to calm her.

"Age, gender, and race don't matter. Your charm goes far beyond those things." Albedo said with conviction that destroyed his soul just a little more.

"But we've only just met." Ainz said, not sure if Albedo was programmed to understand how much time was needed to form a relationship, although he doubted that even Tabula had that much foresight.

"It doesn't matter how long you've known someone!" Finally, Rem stood up and caught Albedo's attention as she looked at her. "When you're falling in love, it doesn't matter how long you've known someone!" She spoke again, her tone fierce.

Albedo growled just a second when she suddenly dashed toward Rem and grabbed her hands. "You get it!" She said with a smile, forgetting all her jealousy.

"That's right. I've barely known Naruto-kun for any length of time at all." Rem said, making Naruto fall out of his chair as if slapped.

"I don't know who Naruto is." Albedo said with no change in her mood.

Rem nodded with her same smile. "This is Naruto-kun. He's very important to me." She replied with a hand gesture to show Albedo who Naruto was.

As Rem and Albedo were talking, Albedo's eyes widened in shock when she realized that she was distracted as she turned and didn't see Ainz in the classroom. She ran after Ainz, but Erich came in and blocked her way.

"Move!" Albedo growled at him, releasing her ominous aura to threaten him. But, that didn't work on him.

"Class is about to start!" Erich said calmly.

"Ainz-sama!"

* * *

**Later…**

"Ainz-sama!" Albedo cried as she ran after Ainz and left the classroom when the bell rang.

"Have fun!" Shalltear and Aura said at the same time.

Erich blinked his eyes at Albedo, but his attention turned to Visha who stood up from her seat.

"Sorry! I'm going too!" She said as she ran and left the classroom.

The other classmates stayed behind on their desks, listening to Erich and what he had to say except the two blonds. The two sleepers were Naruto and Garfiel, who couldn't remain conscious once he started talking.

Ram had a newspaper rolled in her hand and hit right on top of Garfiel's head. "Wake up." She said calmly as the blond boy stood up instantly and glared at her.

"Hey! What the fu-" His face got smacked by Ram with a newspaper again as his head hit his desk and he instantly sat. "O-Ok… I-I'm awake now!"

Ram gave a smug smile to him while nodding, however, it is now Naruto's turn to get hit. She was prepared as she rolled the newspaper into a stick much more tighter than the previous one. She aimed for Naruto's head, but was interrupted by Emilia and Rem.

Of course, they wouldn't like her to give him a cruel treatment, Emilia and Rem were too soft with him.

Emilia sighed with a small smile on her face as she stood up and moved closer to Naruto, shaking his body to wake him up gently. "Naruto, wake up, class is over." She said softly as her voice reached for his mind, and his eyes opened as he wiped the drool on his mouth.

"It's over?" He asked as Emilia nodded to him.

"Tomorrow, after morning classes, we'll be having that talent show. It hasn't been decided yet who'll be performing, so everyone, make sure you're ready." Erich said.

"Sir, why are we having a talent show?" Cocytus asked as he raised his hand.

"Because Mr. Roswaal said, "Wouldn't it be fun?" Erich imitated Roswaal's voice.

Naruto and Garfiel's eyes narrowed in annoyance when Erich did that Roswaal's singing voice. Even Beatrice is annoyed with Roswaal's singing voice. The three of them spat at the floor at the same time.

"H-Hey, Kazuma… I'm sorry about your phone…" Aqua apologized to Kazuma who was giving her the silent treatment.

Kazuma turned to Aqua, giving her a blank expression. He spat at Aqua's feet, now he had to get a low paying job to replace that phone thanks to this thing that was supposed to generate income, not decrease it. Naturally, Aqua took offense to this and cried all over Darkness armor making the knight try to pry her off with no result.

"Hey, Kazuma."

Kazuma instantly beamed as he looked up at Naruto, who called his name. It was the first time he called his name.

"My friends and I are planning to eat ramen at the restaurant. Wanna go with us?" Naruto asked.

Naruto blinked when Kazuma was beside him in an instant. "Y-Yes, Naruto-Senpai! B-But, give me a second!" He said as he dashed back to Aqua. "Can you take out your wallet?"

Aqua blinked her eyes in confusion, but she took out a wallet. "Yes…? Why did-HEY!" She yelled at Kazuma as he took her wallet, ran back to Naruto, and they all ran away from her.

They left the shocked Aqua as she stood in the hallway while looking at the door. Then, Erich came behind her and hit her head with a ruler as she looked at him.

"Go home or else-"

"I'm going!"

* * *

"So, you like coffee?" Ainz asked as he sat on the bench with Tanya. It came as quite a surprise when he found out that the military girl was actually a man from Japan.

"Yeah, back in Japan I'd-" Tanya said before Visha came into the park and interrupted them. The blonde turned to Visha. "Oh, you're here. What is it?"

"Yes, ma'am!" Visha said as she saluted her leader. "School is over for the day, so I came to get you! The croquettes at the butcher on the corner are about to go on sale!"

Tanya smiled. "I don't know who brought us to this world, but there's one thing…" She said as she stood up and looked at Ainz.

"One thing?" He asked

"The food here's great. Later, Ainz Ooal Gown." She gave him a farewell as she and Visha headed off first before him.

Ainz sighed when Tanya left. Honestly, he was glad that he met her or him, that was confusing.

"Oh, Naruto. There is Ainz."

"This can't be…" Ainz turned around to see the half-elf and a familiar spiky blond man. They also brought friends with them.

"You must be Ainz." Naruto said with a strained smile, this skeleton was constantly releasing an ominous aura.

_"N-Naruto Uzumaki! I have to calm down."_ Ainz thought as he coughed on his fist and greeted him as a Lord Ainz. "Naruto Uzumaki. I heard your name yesterday. It's nice to meet you, but why are you here?"

"Well, I was wondering if you could join us to eat ramen together. I always like to make friends while eating some delicious ramen." Naruto said.

"Thank you for your offering, but I'm not hungry." He said.

"Oh, I see. Suit yourself. See you later!"

_"I would love to eat with him but…"_ Ainz thought as he looked up at the sky. _"I can't eat because I'm an undead!"_

There was a loud, shrill shout when Albedo was looking at Ainz behind the tree, it made him sigh in relief, he wasn't supposed to grow tired, since he was an undead, but the NPC's really made his life… interesting, to say the least.


End file.
